According to Angel
by Jazz3
Summary: Ninth chapter is up! Anyhoo: Kari and TK's wild, scatterbrained teenage daughter must band together with a new league of DigiDestined in order to stop evil in it's tracks! Will she survive the Digital World? And will the Digital World survive her?
1. According to Angel: A New Generation

According to Angel: The sequal to "With Arms Wide Open"  
  
By Jazz  
  
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Part One  
  
You don't know me, but you've heard of me. That's right. I'm Angel Takaishi. My parents are Kari and TK Takaishi.   
  
I told you you'd remember me.   
  
Currently, I'm fourteen years old, and attending Odaiba High School as a freshman. A lowly, stupid, unimportant freshman. Yeah, sure, I get my permit to drive this year. Who cares? My life sucks.  
  
Nobody knows or understands that my life sucks. Not even Mom and Dad. But don't worry. I'm not sucidal or anything. I'm a coward. I always have been. I am scared of practically everything. Cars, horses, guns, knives, bats, snakes, bandits, thunderstorms, cowboys, sharks, piranahs, that guy at the CD store, and everything else you can think of.  
  
It's not my fault that I am a scaredy-cat. Maybe if I had someone else around alot, I could learn to deal with it. Like a brother or sister. But I don't. I'm an only child.  
  
I wasn't always an only child, you know. For a short period of time, I was an older sibling. I was only five, but I remember it like it was yesterday.  
  
"Angel, sweetie, we have some news for you."  
  
"What kind of news?"  
  
"You're going to have a little sister! Isn't that great, darling?"  
  
"You mean--there's gonna be a little baby around?"  
  
"Yes, sweetheart. Aren't you excited?"  
  
"Will I get to feed her? And play with her? And hold her?"  
  
"Yep. You're going to be a great sister!"  
  
"I can't wait!"  
  
Yeah, I was really excited about having a new sister. I tried to help get ready for the baby as best I could. I helped paint the nursery a pale yellow instead of the pale blue that was in there for me. I put up with my mother's hysteria and morning sickness, and when she ignored me, I didn't fight back. I left her in peace.   
  
Mama went to the hospital three weeks before my sixth birthday. I wasn't allowed to see her. I went to stay with my Uncle Matt and Aunt Sora while she was there. The next morning, they took me to see her and my new sister. Mom told me her name: Adelae Elizabeth. I thought it was pretty. I got to hold her, and she slept very peacefully. Adelae was so tiny; no longer than the length of my arm. She had dark hair like my mom, and really long eyelashes.   
  
Mom and Dad came home from the hospital the next day. Immediately, the put Adelae to sleep in her crib. Then Mom fell asleep. I wanted to play with both of them, but Daddy said that I couldn't play with Adelae for a few more months. So we tried working on a puzzle together, but he fell asleep. I decided to climb into the crib with Adelae and take a nap with her, since the crib was big enough for both of us. Mom wasn't too happy when she saw me curled up next to her.  
  
Over the next six days, I helped around the house all I could. I made my own breakfast, I did my homework and got Matt to check it, and occasionally, I helped with Adelae. I tickled her, and I rocked her to sleep, but I stayed out of the way when they changed her diaper.  
  
On the seventh day, I came home from school, and the apartment was quiet. I heard a soft noise coming from my parents' room, and peeked in, not letting them know I was there. What I saw was something I will never forget.  
  
My mother was in there, crying, sobbing on my father's chest. He held her, stroking her hair, a whispering to her. He looked like he was trying his best not to cry, either.  
  
"Shh, shh, it will be okay," he soothed. "We'll all be alright. It just wasn't meant to be. Shh. Everything will be fine. We'll be alright. We'll get through this. You'll see." I saw a tear drip down from his eye and land on my mother's finger.  
  
I left the doorway. I couldn't bear to see my mom like this.   
  
So, for six days, I was an older sister. Then, once again, I was an only child. They could have had another baby. But they didn't. I learned later that Adelae had died in her sleep of unknown causes. I wasn't allowed to got to her funeral. I don't really know if they even had a funeral. I don't even know where they buried her, or if they buried her at all. I wasn't told a thing.   
  
After that, Adelae was forgotten--well, not forgotten really, she just was never mentioned in my presence. It hurt my mother terribly, and from that day on, with me, she was either totally overprotective or totally ignorant. My birthday passed, forgotten by all, even me. I hated it. I hated Mom for it. But, as horrible as it may be, I hated Adelae most for hurting her and the rest of my family. I hated her for making my mom and dad so unhappy. I knew it was wrong to hate a tiny little baby for something that wasn't her fault, but it was easier to blame her than anyone else.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mom! I'm home!" I yelled as I walked into the apartment.   
  
I sniffed the air. Something was cooking, and it definately wasn't Mom. About the only thing she could make was a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  
  
I walked into the kitchen, suspicious. I turned the corner, and what I saw made me want to burst into a fit of laughter.  
  
My uncle Matt was standing there, in a pink apron, steaming vegetables on a skillet. I put my hand over my mouth and grinned. He whistled along to the radio, which was playing "Lady Marmalade."  
  
I couldn't take it anymore. "Honey, I'm home!" I said. Then I dropped to the floor and giggled hard. Matt looked hilarious.  
  
He jumped and turned around. When he saw me on the floor, he blushed a crimson red. Then he scooped me up off the floor, threw me over his shoulder, carried me into the living room, dropped me on the couch, and tickled me.  
  
"Eeek!" I screamed. "Eeeee! Uncle! Uncle!"  
  
"What's that? I can't hear you!"  
  
"UNCLE!" I screamed as loud as I could.  
  
He stopped tickling me, and got up, walking back to the kitchen. I followed him.  
  
"So, where are Mom and Dad?" I asked, picking up a piece of celery out of the frying pan and crunching it.  
  
"I'm not at liberty to say," said Matt, grinning secretly.  
  
"Oooh, I hate you," I said, tackling him from behind. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he swung me around until I fell on my butt. Matt was my favorite uncle.  
  
I stood, and reached into my backpack, pullng out a Hershey's candy bar. I unwrapped it, and was about to bite into it when Matt snatched it out of my hand.  
  
"Hey!" I yelled. I tried to grab it back, but Matt was too tall.  
  
"You'll spoil your dinner," he said in a parental tone, putting it away in a cabinet high above my head.  
  
"But it's all the way from America!"  
  
"I don't care. You can have it after you eat."  
  
I rolled my eyes. I picked up my backpack and went into my bedroom to start my homework. Matt went back to humming and cooking, and I didn't give my parents a second thought.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This can't be happening," Kari whispered to TK.  
  
TK shut his eyes. "I don't believe this. After all of these years--why now?"  
  
"It doesn't make any sense!"  
  
TK wrapped his arms around his wife. At the age of thirty-four, they had both experienced things in their lives that no young person should have.  
  
Kari buried her face in his chest. "What are we going to do? I don't think I'm stable enough for this--emotionally, physically, and mentally!"  
  
"Shhh," TK said, trying to calm her down. "We can work this out, Kari. It's not like we're new to this."  
  
"But it's been so long!--Ohhh..." At that, Kari collapsed in his arms. She was so small and frail, and she weighed about as much as a chimp.   
  
TK picked her up and set her down on the bed. As soon as he made sure she was okay, he sat down next to her. Then, for the first time in years, he put his head in his hands and cried.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, where are my parents, anyways?" I asked. I put a forkfull of terriyaki steak in my mouth.  
  
Matt swallowed. "All I can tell you is that they are nowhere near Odaiba."  
  
"When will they be back?"  
  
"Probably sometime late tommorrow night." Matt ate the last of the steamed vegetables on his plate, then carried his and mine to the kitchen to be washed.  
  
I followed him in there. "I'll wash them. You made supper."  
  
Matt nodded, and handed me the plates. I put them in the sink, turned on the water, and began to scrub.  
  
"Where's Aunt Sora tonight?" I asked.  
  
"In Hiroshima at a fashion show with her assistant. She won't be back until next week."  
  
"Oh." I continued scrubbing in silence. After about five minutes, I turned around again. "So, what are my parents doing, anyways?"  
  
"Don't ask so many questions!" Matt snapped. "If they wanted you to know where they were, they would have told you!"  
  
"Sorry," I said quietly. I finished washing them, then put them away. The rest of the night was silent and uneventful.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kari awoke later that night in the arms of her husband. She glanced up at him, figuring that he would be asleep. Instead, he was staring at the wall in front of him.   
  
She stirred, and TK looked down at her and smiled. "Feeling better?"  
  
"I could lie and tell you that I was," she said. Kari groaned and tried to sit up. "My stomach aches."  
  
Thinking quickly, TK grabbed the hotel room ice bucket, and set it in front of Kari. She bent her head, and threw up. TK disposed of the vomit, and pulled out a Sprite from the tiny refridgerator.   
  
"Here," he said, handing it to her, "sip on this, but wait until it stops fizzing."  
  
She did what she was told, and, once again, grabbed the bucket and threw up.  
  
TK winced.   
  
"I'm sorry, TK," she said as he took the bucket from her. "This is all my fault."  
  
"Don't be sorry, you did nothing. This was my fault, too. We are both to be blamed."  
  
"Do you think we will be able to get through this?" Kari asked. "It's been such a long time."  
  
"We will, Kari," TK said, holding her close. "We have love and fate and all that good stuff on our side."  
  
"Then why didn't they come through for us the last time?" she cried. Tears sprang from her eyes, and she smothered her face in his chest. TK ran his hands through her hair, trying to resist the tears once again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I left for school the next morning while Matt was still asleep in the guest room, or the old nursery. I walked to school, still wondering where my parents were.  
  
"Hey, Angel! Wait up!"  
  
My heart fluttered even before I turned around. Stay cool, he's only like, your best friend. "Oh, hey, Tony. What's up?"  
  
Tony Tanishi caught up to me. He was tall and muscular from all the sports he plays, and was about three times bigger than me. He lived three doors down from me.  
  
"How's it going?" he asked. Tony reached into his backpack, and pulled out a tiny package. "Creme Savor?" he asked, offering it to me.  
  
I couldn't help but grin. Tony always kept a secret stash of those anywhere he could fit them. He wasn't exactly allowed to have them, since his mother is a health freak. She practically washes his mouth out with biodegradeable soap if he even utters the word donut.  
  
"No thanks," I said.  
  
"You're sure? They're making raspberry now."   
  
"I'm sure."  
  
Tony popped the candy into his mouth. He chewed on it a bit, then swallowed. "Yum."  
  
"On second thought, give me one of the marmalade ones. I'll need that sugar rush for tonight." I stood on my tiptoes and reached into the front pocket of his backpack. I pulled out a candy, and unwrapped it.   
  
"Why do you need a sugar rush for tonight?" Tony asked, as I sucked on the Creme Savor.  
  
"My parents skipped town yesterday for no reason. They won't be back until late tonight, and I plan on finding out exactly what's going on."  
  
"What if it's something that you don't want to know? Like, maybe they were recreating their wedding night or something." He grinned at me, and I smacked him playfully in the side.  
  
"Ewwww! Don't put images in my mind--especially those images. Besides, they wouldn't have Uncle Matt come stay with me if it was something like--that. Eww. That's nasty! And besides, if it was that, they would probably be gone longer than that."  
  
Just then the bell rang. Tony and I raced inside the building. I pulled open my locker quickly, with a little help from Tony. His locker was next to mine, since it went in alphabetical order. Takaishi, Tanishi, you get the picture.  
  
As soon as I opened my locker door, a huge pile of books fell on top of me. My locker was messier than anybody's, even without all the stinky soccer and basketball uniforms.  
  
"Here," Tony said. "Let me help." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up, and then began to put my stuff back in my locker.  
  
My knight in shining armor. Tony has always been there for me, through good times and bad, through puberty and PMS. Maybe that's why I've had a huge crush on him since grade school.   
  
I know, I know, it's not healthy to have a crush on your best friend. But I can't help that my best friend is such a sweetheart. Sometimes, I wished I could be prettier so he would notice me more. He's tall, muscular, handsome, and he certainly does not look like he just turned fifteen.   
  
And me? I'm like my mom. Short, no body, and really dusty-looking blonde hair, not golden, like my dad's. At least Mom has boobs, though. I'm not fat, but I'm not skinny either. I eat like a pig, but I stay in shape from playing sports. Heck, I'm only five-two, and I weigh about a hundred and two pounds. If you want an example of my body shape, look at Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven. That's basically what I look like. That's right. No chest. Sigh.  
  
I guess this is as good as it's gonna get. I'll be lucky to grow another half an inch, nonetheless another cup size. And I'll never get my guy. Tony and I will probably just be what we are now--best friends. Nothing is ever going to change.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Late that night, Kari and TK tiptoed into their apartment, and closed the door behind them. They walked as quietly as possible into their bedroom, and sliiped into their nightclothes. TK drew back the covers, and climbed in. Kari started to follow his actions, but then stopped. "Wait," she said, climbing out of the bed. "I want to check on Angel."   
  
Kari left her bed and walked silently down the hall. She stopped at her daughter's bedroom door, and opened it quietly.  
  
Angel was sleeping peacefully on her twin-sized bed. The covers were pulled up to her chin, her mouth etched in a straight line. Kari tiptoed up to her, and kissed her gently on the forehead. Then she walked out of the room and shut the door.   
  
As Kari climbed into bed with TK, he looked over at her and smiled. "How is she?"  
  
"Fine. Sleeping like a baby." An interesting choice of words, she thought.  
  
TK leaned in and kissed her, and turned out the lamp next to him. Kari was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
The next day was Saturday, and instead of being awakened by my alarm clock, I was awakened by a warm stream of sunlight on my face.   
  
I groaned as the bright light hit my eyes. I rubbed them, and waited for them to adjust. Mom must have heard me, because she popped her head into the room.   
  
"Morning, sweetheart," she said, walking over to me, and sitting on my bed.   
  
"Hi, Mom," I said groggily. I looked over at the clock. 8:30. Then I looked at myself in the mirror across from my bed. My hair looked awful, and my eyes were baggy, making me look like I hadn't slept in days.  
  
"How were the last couple of days?" she asked, her eyes dancing. I looked at her face. She looked fabulous, as usual, even though she probably didn't get in until one a.m. last night.  
  
"Fine...hey, where were you, anyways?" I asked.  
  
"I'll tell you later. So, anyways, how was school? And soccer practice?"  
  
Why was she so interested all of the sudden? "Fantastic," I said sarcastically. For some reason, I decided to forget about her little disappearence--and concentrate on my problem with Tony. And--for all reasons unknownst to mankind--I decided to confide in her.  
  
"Hey, Mom?" I asked. "I have a bit of a problem, and was wondering if you could help me."  
  
"Of course, sweetie," she Mom in that somewhat annoying sugar-sweet voice. "You know you can always tell me anything."  
  
"Um, okay," I said, uncomfortably. "It's about Tony. We've been friends for so long, and--"  
  
"And you want to be more than friends, right?" she finished for me.  
  
"Yeah..." I said, confused. "How did you know?"  
  
Mom threw back her head and laughed. "Honey, your father and I were best friends for six years before we finally started dating. It took us even longer to say "I love you" for the first time. I know exactly what you're going through. Everyone has been expecting you and Tony to hook up sooner or later."  
  
"Seriously?" I asked, awed. "How old were you when you and Dad finally started dating?"  
  
She winked at me. "Fourteen."  
  
My mouth dropped open. Mom stood up, and stretched. "I think your dad is making Spinach omelates for breakfast. I better go make sure he doesn't burn the building down." And at that, she left the room.  
  
I was left alone with my thoughts. Fourteen? Mom and Dad? Wierd. I didn't want to believe it--but, then, why would Mom have any reason to lie to me? They're not the kind of parents who lie to protect their kids. They're the kind of parents who tell their kids the truth so they can learn from it.  
  
But, seriously, Mom and Dad have been together since they were my age? And they knew each other even longer before that. I wonder how much longer. Tony and I have known each other since we were five. I wonder...could we ever be like my parents?   
  
I left my bed, and wandered down the hall to the kitchen. Instead of walking right in, I decide to spy on my parents.  
  
There they were, my dad standing behind my mother, his arms wrapped around her. He kept kissing her cheek as they danced around the room like that, to music that only they could hear.  
  
I couldn't help but grin. They were still so much in love, even after almost fifteen years. They had had me when they were only twenty...they were still so young.   
  
Suddenly, I heard Dad yelp. "My omelates!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TK furiously tried to keep his precious omelates from burning on the stove. He flipped them over to the other side quickly, but it was too late. They were already black.  
  
"Shoot," he said. He scraped the omelates into the trash. Kari came over and wrapped her arms around his waist.  
  
"You know, we can always have cereal," she said, grinning. "I have the strangest craving for Cinnimon Toast Crunch."  
  
TK bowed. "Your wish is my command, my Queen," he said. She giggled, stood on her toes, and kissed him gently on the mouth.  
  
Just then, Angel sauntered into the room. She had the strangest smile on her face.  
  
"Good morning, all," she said. She pulled a bowl out of the cabinet.  
  
"Well, hello, Miss Sleeping Beauty," TK said. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. "And how long were you standing outside the door?"  
  
"Long enough to know that my parents are hopeless romantics and there is nothing I can do to change it," she said, pouring the cereal into the bowl.  
  
TK and Kari looked at each other and smiled.   
  
"So, are you guys going to tell me where you were these past two days, or not? I'm dying to know," Angel said, shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.  
  
The smiles faded off of her parent's mouths. "Um, well, Angel, you see..." TK started.   
  
Kari clamped a hand over his mouth. "Angel, go back into my bedroom and wait for me there. I'll be there in a second, but I need to talk to your father first."  
  
Angel shrugged. "Okay," she said. She picked up her cereal bowl and started off down the hall.  
  
"Um, Angel?" Kari asked.  
  
She turned around. "Yeah?"  
  
"Leave the cereal in the kitchen." Kari grinned.  
  
"But it will get soggy!"  
  
"Do what your mother says, young lady," TK said sternly.  
  
Angel sighed, exasperated, and set her bowl down on the table. "Mother knows best," she said sarcastically under her breath, and turned back towards her parent's bedroom.  
  
Kari rolled her eyes. "Where did that little minx get such a smart mouth?"  
  
"Like mother, like daughter," TK said grinning.  
  
Kari poked him in the ribs. "How on earth am I gonna tell her?"  
  
"You don't have to tell her alone. She has two parents, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but I feel like I need to give her the...talk now," she said. "It would be a good time."  
  
TK spit out his milk. "You still haven't given her the talk yet?!?"  
  
"Honey, my mother still hasn't given me the talk yet," Kari said, smiling. "Besides, now is better than never, right?" She stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine, TK. Really." She beamed at him.   
  
TK smiled and nodded, which was about the only thing he could have done right then. He watched his wife turn and head back to their bedroom. God, he loved her so much.  
  
Hopeless, he thought. Completely hopeless.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I bounced the mattress as I sat down next to her on the bed. She looked rather nervous, and I was going to do everything in my power to make these next few moments as nervewracking as possible for her.  
  
"You see, Angel," she started. "When a man and a woman..."  
  
Oh, god. I'm not going to let her embarrass herself over the talk. This was the one thing I could not stand--listening to adults talk about sex as if it were some sacred thing that you should save for marriage. Blah, blah, blah. I don't think you should save sex for marriage...what if you marry the wrong person? Your first time should be with the person you know you love.   
  
"Condems are another option, and..." Mom continued.  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Mom, spare yourself. I know about sex...I know enough to know that I probably won't wait until marriage to do it. I'll do it when I'm ready."  
  
"Well, that's what I was going to say, sweetie," she said. "You should be with the person you love when you have sex. You shouldn't have to wait until marriage if you don't want to."  
  
Weird. Sometimes I think my mom is a mind-reader. It would certainly explain a lot of things that go on around here. "Exactly what I was thinking."  
  
"I didn't wait until marriage," Mom continued. "How do you think you were conceived?"  
  
I covered my ears with my hands. I did not want to hear this. "LA LA LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"  
  
Mom laughed. But as soon as it had come, the laughter faded away. "There was something else I wanted to tell you," she said. "I don't know how you'll take it. I hope you won't hate me."  
  
"Mom," I said, giving her a hug. "I could never hate you. Who possibly could?"  
  
Mom gave a small smile. She took a deep breath, and it all came out. "I'm pregnant."  
  
I stared at her for a moment. I was not surprised; I had seen this coming long ago. I wasn't mad, or upset, but I wasn't exactly ecstatic, either. I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just sat there and stared.  
  
"I'm going to have a baby," she said. "In June."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kari searched Angel's face for some type of emotion, but there was none. Angel's face was blank.   
  
Kari couldn't take her daughter's silence. "Will you please say something!"  
  
Slowly but surely, a smile spread across her face. "Are you happy? Are you excited?" she asked.  
  
Dumbstruck, Kari nodded. Angel grinned. "Then so am I."   
  
She surprised her mother even further by reaching across the bed and giving her a hug. TK, who had been evesdropping on them the entire time, rushed into the room and wrapped them both up in his arms. They stayed that way for God knows how long.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I don't have just one friend, you know. I have a "posse." We're all buds, you know. Best friends. We do just about everything together.  
  
First, there's my best friend--besides Tony, of course--Mari Ichijouju. She has a twin brother named Sam, and those two are constantly bickering. He's a part of our "posse" too. He is one of Tony's really best guy friends.  
  
Next, is my older cousin by one year, and his sister who is my age. Chino and Kara Ishida. Kara and I hang out alot, and Chino is a bit too overprotective of her. He's a sophmore, and plays basketball with Tony.  
  
I also have another cousin who is a sophmore. Brad Kamiya. He doesn't have a little brother or sister to be constantly protective over, so I am basically his prime target. Brad and Chino are always fighting--I swear it never ends.  
  
Next is another "girlfriend" of mine--Lei Hida. She is basically a bombshell just waiting to explode. Her mom died when she was born, and she and her dad aren't very close. He's a lawyer, but he doesn't spend much time at home. Lei taught herself to be her own person, and protect herself in the two only ways she knew how--kendo and kickboxing. O.O Weird, huh?  
  
Jason Kido is a bit of a nerd, but he's one of my best friends. I don't know much about him, except that his dad is a doctor and he's a real sweetie. He gives me the much-needed help with my science homework.  
  
Two more BFFs are Flora and Tina Izumi. Flora is a sophomore, and Tina is a freshman. Their dad is some kind of psycho computer genius, and their mom hosts a cooking show. I have known these two since pre-kindergarten.  
  
Last, but definately not least is Marcus Motymiya. Marcus can be a bit annoying at times--okay, nearly all the time. He has had a huge crush on me since grade school, and views Tony as a rival. Sometimes I flirt a bit with Tony, just to make him blow up. It's kinda funny, especially since Marcus is about two inches shorter than Tony. But he's a good friend. He's always there when you need him.  
  
And there you have it. My "posse." You can just imagine how they reacted when I told them Mom was pregnant.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You're what?" Ken asked, eyes open wide.  
  
Kari giggled. "That's right. I'm going to have a baby in June."  
  
Yolei's eyes practically popped out of her head. "This is fantastic!" she sqealed. "I'm having a baby only about four months before you! We have to go shopping together!"  
  
Matt grabbed Kari's hand and twirled her around. "Hey, Tai!" he said as Tai walked into the room. "Your little sister is going to be a mommy--again!"  
  
Tai's mouth dropped open, and Kari blushed. "Is this true?" he asked.  
  
Kari giggled again. "It sure is."  
  
"Woo-woo-wooo!" Tai yelled. He picked her up and spun her around.   
  
Kari laughed as the other original DigiDestined began to congratulate her.  
  
"Wow, Kari, I'm so happy for you!" Mimi said enthusiastically.  
  
"Yolei's right. We're going to have to take you shopping!" Sora said, her eyes wide with the excitement.  
  
Davis nudged TK in the side. "You have to put up with her all over again," he said, laughing. "Sucks for you!"  
  
"Yeah, but it's all worth it in the end," TK said, grinning.  
  
"It was probably worth it in the beginning!" Davis threw back his head and laughed as TK punched him playfully in the shoulder.  
  
"Hey, TK, congratulations!" Cody said.   
  
"Thanks, Cody." TK ran his hand through his hair.  
  
"TK!" TK heard Matt, Joe, Tai, and Izzy call from the other side of the room.   
  
"Yeah?" he yelled back.  
  
"Ever heard of these?" Joe yelled, and held up a package of condems.  
  
Both Kari and TK blushed a crimson red as everyone else in the room began laughing hysterically. It really wasn't that funny, but they seemed to be in the moment.  
  
Everyone chattered for several minutes, just happy to be together in each other's presence. After all was calm for a few moments, Joe flipped on the TV.  
  
"This just in!" the newscaster boomed. "An Islamic group from the Middle East--suspected to be either Palastine or Iran--has just crashed three planes into the Pentagon, and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the United States! Several lives have been lost as of today!"  
  
Everyone stopped talking and gathered around the television set. "Isn't that sad?" Mimi said.  
  
"Horrible," said Izzy. The twelve of them were silent for what seemed like an eternity.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mari spit out her milk. "She's what?"  
  
I laughed. "That is correct. My mother is pregnant."  
  
"When's she due?" Lei asked.  
  
"June."  
  
Mari grabbed me by the hands and we spun around for a minute. "We're both going to be getting a little brother or sister at the same time!"  
  
Tony laughed. I had told him before the others, of course, since I tell him almost everything. Almost, I said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Jason asked, worried. "I mean, there could be some kind of mistake or something."  
  
I scowled. "I don't want to think about that."  
  
Jason looked at me, concerned. He didn't know about Adelae. The only people that did know are Tony, Mari, and Sam. They remained silent. Mari looked down at her shoes.  
  
"Um...so?" Sam said, breaking the silence. "Boy or girl?"  
  
I thanked him silently with my eyes for changing the subject. "They don't know. They want it to be a surprise."  
  
Just then, we heard a yell behind us. "Hey, guys!"  
  
It was Marcus. We turned around, and he ran towards us. When he reached us, he bent down to catch his breath. "Did you guys hear yet?"  
  
"Hear what?" Tony asked, curious.  
  
"The bombings! In the States! Pennsylvania, D.C., and New York!"  
  
"Huh?" Jason asked.  
  
"Terrorism! In the U.S.!" Marcus stood. His face was red.   
  
"Who did it?" I asked.   
  
"Someone from the Middle East. They don't know much about it, yet." Sam raised an eyebrow, and Mari bit her lip.  
  
"That's awful," I said. Just then, the bell rang.  
  
"Come on," Tony said. "We're gonna be late for class."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
None of them knew it, but they were being watched. A dark and powerful force was watching Angel, Kari, TK, Tony, and the others through a crystal ball. As he watched, he grinned with joy.  
  
"I've got you now, Child of Light," he said gleefully, zooming in on Kari. She looked so happy, so joyful, and he was about to strip her of all of it. After he was done with her, there would be nothing left.   
  
"You're mine, now."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ooh, spooky! I love suspense. I'm not really very good at it, though. If you have any questions, comments, etc on Part One, please e-mail me at either jazzgirl1488@yahoo.com or jazzgirl1488@hotmail.com. Compliments and criticism welcome!  



	2. According to Angel: Earth to Angel

According to Angel

By Jazz

Disclaimer: 

Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I no own  
So you no sue!

==================================================================================

**Part Two**

***Reality check***

Angel just found out that her mom (Kari, duh) is going to have a baby. Soon, we learn that there is some mysterious force that is after the "Child of Light." Hint, hint: Angel and her friends know nothing about Digimon! Pretend the epilogue never happened. ^_~

Don't remember whose kids are whose? Here's a reminder:

Kari and TK: Angel, and another on the way  
Tai: Brad  
Matt and Sora: Chino and Kara  
Izzy and Mimi: Flora and Tina  
Joe: Jason  
Cody: Lei  
Davis: Marcus  
Yolei and Ken: Sam, Mari, and another on the way  
(Tony doesn't have DigiDestined parents)

***Present day--three months later***

I walked into the science lab that morning. Science was first period. As soon as I walked into the room, nearly all the kids burst into applause.

I was stunned. What the heck was going on?

Tony came up to me, grinning. "Congratulations on the soccer victory!"

Huh?

My science teacher, Mrs. Yamasaki, smiled also. "Would you believe me if I had said that that was the team's first soccer victory in over twenty years?"

"No," I said. But I could. I was the captain of the team, and they had been really lousy at the beginning of the season. But my cousin Brad and I had taken a bunch of really sucky girls and molded them into soccer players.

I shrugged and grinned. "We only scored one throughout the entire game."

"You're missing the point!" my teacher said excitedly. "You girls won for the first time in over two decades! Not since Sora Tachinouchi played for the team. Why aren't you excited?"

"I have nothing to be really excited about," I said, offering a half-smile. 

Truth be told, I haven't been myself lately. I have nightmares and headaches alot. And--this will sound really creepy--but whenever I turn to look at someone, they seem so unfamiliar and faraway. It takes me a few seconds to even recognize them. I am growing old this fast?

"Hey! Earth to Angel!" Tony waved his hand in front of my face.

"Huh? What? Sorry, I must have spaced out again," I said sheepishly.

Tony frowned. He always knew when something was wrong. "You've been doing that a lot lately. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, TK!" I snapped.

I felt my breath draw inward. Why had I just called Tony by my dad's name? It didn't make sense.

"Angel..." he said slowly. His eyes were full of worry.

"Tony...I'm sorry, I just haven't been myself, okay?" I said. "Please don't worry about me."

Before he could answer, Mrs. Yamasaki belted out, "Alright, class, take your seats, it's time to begin!"

I seated myself as far away from Tony as possible. I didn't want to talk to him, or answer the question he was asking with his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Puppetmon climbed angrily into his master's chamber.

"Hey boss! I've got a bone to pick with you!" he yelled in his annoying voice.

A dark silhouette was seen behind a screen that separated Puppetmon and his master. The voice behind the shadow sighed.

"Now what is it?" he asked, exasperated.

"The natives are getting restless, boss!" Puppetmon said, nastily. "You said the Child of Light would be here by now!"

His master sighed again. He was getting much weaker. "I am sorry, Puppetmon," he said. "But I'm afraid the Child of Light hasn't even been born yet."

Puppetmon's mouth dropped open, and his eyes nearly burst from his face. "What?!?" he screeched. "We're dying, man, and you tell us _now_ that we have to wait even longer?"

"Not much longer...only about eight months..."

"But we've waited twenty-nine years for this!" Puppetmon yelled. "We're not going to get any stronger..."

"Do you think that I am?" his master shouted. "I am much weaker than all of you combined! And without me, the rest of you would just be a bunch of dead failures! I have fed you my blood for nearly three decades now, and what do you have to thank me for it? Impatience, complaining---endless complaining---and taking all the strength I have!"

Puppetmon was silent for a moment. He saw his commander's shadow turn away. 

"I am sorry for getting upset with you," he said softly. "But nearly thirty years we have waited. You must understand, Puppetmon, I am growing older. And much weaker. I only have about one more year without the light. But the light will come before my time is done. And you and your petty companions will be free!"

Puppetmon opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He turned his back, and silently walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_I was running from...something. It was horrible, whatever it was. And it was gaining on me._

_I ran faster and faster... I was running from the unknown. My past. It was getting closer and closer._

_Suddenly, I wasn't running anymore. I was standing on the commons ground at the junior high. I looked around. I was _in_ the past._

_I looked up, and saw a girl with short brown hair sitting on a bench, looking very depressed. Next to her, a boy with very poofy blonde hair stood next to her. They seemed to be in a deep conversation. I moved closer to hear what they were saying. They didn't see me._

_The boy said something incoherent, and the girl replied. "No, silly. Digimon. They keep trying to take me to their world. I don't know if I can resist anymore."_

_"You've got to! Where are they? We'll fight them!"_

_"I'm sorry. I can't. I'm just not strong like my brother."_

_"So you're gonna give up? Just like that?" he said, frustrated. "Look, Kari, I care too much about you to let anyone take you without a fight!"_

_Kari? This girl was my mother? Then the boy must be..._

_Kari gasped, and looked up at him. He sucked in his breath at his own words, and combed his hair with his hands. "I, uh, I better go now. I'll talk to you later?" Then he dashed off._

_Kari was left sitting alone on the bench. To my surprise, she began to disappear right in front of my eyes! Suddenly, she was gone._

_I was left alone on the commons ground with so many questions. Were those two kids really my parents, TK and Kari? Why was I seeing them at this time period? Here and now? And...what exactly are Digimon?_

_I sat down on the bench that the girl had been sitting on to think. No sooner than I had sat down, though, than I felt myself begin to fade._

_I was no longer at the school. I was sitting on a small cliff that overlooked the ocean. Only one thing different, though, was that everything was dark. The ocean was dark, the sky was dark, even the light shining from the lighthouse on a strip of land across the water. _

_Suddenly, there she was! That girl--Kari--that was at the junior high! She was running down the beach, followed close behind by some very strange looking creatures. They were very small, and had flippers and gills on either side of them. Above her flew another odd creature, but this one looked more like a dragon than anything._

_She lifted her arm to wave at--me? No. She couldn't see me. She was waving at something behind me. I turned to see what it was...a complete shock._

_The blonde headed boy from earlier was riding on the back of a pegasus. That's right. A flying horse. In front of him, a cat/bunny was straddled on it. _

_"Kari!" he yelled._

_"TK!"_

_TK? I was right; this boy was my dad! Well, sort of. _

_The cat leaped off the back of the horse, and ran towards Kari. Suddenly, it shouted, "Gatomon, Digivolve to...Angewomon!"_

_The catlike creature evolved into an angel! Weird. Apparently, its name was Angewomon. I didn't know what to believe--my eyes, or my instincts._

_Angewomon and the pegasus flew over to the lighthouse. Just then, the pegasus spoke! "Star Shower!" he yelled. _

_A meteor shower exploded from the pegasus, knocking the lighthouse over. I was extremely confused. What was going on?_

_They flew back over to the shore where Kari was standing. Indeed, they both looked how my mom and dad would look like at the age of twelve. But...were they?_

_TK dismounted the horse, and suddenly, the creatures that had been following Kari suddenly grew larger. Taller. Meaner. One grabbed onto Kari's arm. She tried shake him off, but couldn't. Angewomon shot a spark at him, and he let go. TK ran over to her. _

_"Leave her alone!"_

_The sea creature opened his mouth, and he, too, began to speak. "We thought you wanted to be our queen... only you can lead us in the war against our undersea leader... we'll be back... our undersea leader knows of your powers too..."_

_They entered the water, and submerged themselves. They disappeared in a few ripples, then all was still._

_TK put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It could be worse," he said, sympathetically, trying to cheer her up._

_Kari lifted her head and raised her eyebrow. How could it possibly be worse?_

_"We could be scraping gum at school," TK explained, offering a smile._

_Kari gave a small smile. Same old Dad. I could recognize him, even with twenty years between the them._

_Just then, felt myself fading again, but this time, there was a heavy pain in my chest. It grew quickly, and I screamed in pain, hoping TK or Kari would hear me. But they didn't._

_I was fading...faster and faster. I felt a hand grab me from behind and spin me around. I gasped when I saw his face._

"Angel! Time to wake up! You'll be late for school!"

I sat up with a bolt. I looked at my hand. It was shaking. I had broken a cold sweat. 

"Come on, Angel, get the lead out!" Dad called. "It's almost 7:30!"

7:30? Yikes! I'd forgotten to set my alarm! Oh, why did this have to happen _now?_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Tony waited outside Angel's door. It was getting late; where was she? He tapped his foot, trying not to be impatient with her. It was hard to get mad at her, though. 

Just then, the door swung open, and Angel stumbled out, tripping over her own feet. She had a math book tucked under one arm, a hairbrush in her hand, one shoe on her foot, and half of her English homework in her mouth.

"Mmmh mh mmf!" she mumbled. TK followed her outside, holding her other shoe and the other half of her English homework. He rolled his eyes.

"I'll drop you two off on my way to work," he said. Angel stumbled over to the elevator. She couldn't push the button because her hands were full, so she slammed it with the brush.

TK looked over at Tony and rolled his eyes again. Tony covered his mouth so Angel wouldn't see him smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had difficulty concentrating that day. My mind kept going back to that dream. I know it was only a dream, but it had seemed so real. It had provoked so many questions from me. Why had the pain in my chest hurt so bad? Were the boy and the girl on the beach really my mother and father? What were the angel, the sea creatures, and the pegasus? Were they Digimon? What exactly are Digimon?

"Yo! Earth to Angel? Are you there?"

"Huh?" I looked around. I was back at the lunch table. My friends looked at me, concerned.

Lei waved her hand in front of my face. "You have been incredibly spacey lately!" she exclaimed. "Maybe you need to see the school shrink or something."

Kara smiled. "I don't think that," she said. "You're probably just under a lot of stress, with your mother being pregnant and all."

"Yeah!" Tina chorused. "I mean, you're getting a new brother or sister. That's stress all by itself!"

"Seriously, though, you are going to have to learn to deal with it," Brad joined in. "Babies are A LOT to take care of. Feeding them, answering to their endless demands, changing their stinky diapers..."

"Loving them," Flora interjected. "Brad, you don't even have a little brother or sister. How would you know all of this?"

"I have two little cousins," he said, gesturing to Kara and I, but keeping his gaze fixated on Flora. 

Kara and I exchanged a glance. It was well known around school that Brad and Flora had huge crushes on each other. Too bad they were the only ones who didn't see it. They would make a great couple.

"Hello? We're eating!" Tina said, disgusted. Flora turned away and blushed, and Brad smiled a little. 

"So, anyways," Chino said. "My dad has a concert on Saturday, and wanted to know if you guys could come."

"I don't know," said Lei hesitantly. "I've been to one of his concerts before, and, well...they can get pretty loud."

"Please?" Kara wheedled. "He's gonna perform his newest song, and it's really pretty!"

"I'll probably go," I said. "I have a soccer game that morning, but my dad said something about going. I bet my mom won't though."

"Can I get a ride with you?" Tony asked. "If it'll be okay with your dad?"

"I'm sure it will be fine," I replied absently. 

Tony glanced at me out of the corner of his eye suspiciously as my thoughts wandered back to the dream. "You haven't eaten much of your lunch," he pointed out. 

"I'm not hungry."

"In that case," Brad said. He scooted my tray over to the other side of the table and began scraping my food onto his tray. 

Tina screwed up her face in disgust. "How can you eat that? Are you forgetting who made it? Motymiya Noodle Company! No offense, Marcus."

"None taken. Actually, they just supplied the dry noodles. The cafeteria ladies made it." Marcus looked at his and grew pale.

"That's what I meant." Brad cackled, and scooped a huge forkful into his mouth. He barely finished before the bell rang.

He patted his stomach. "I have my dad's appetite. And you obviously have your mother's, Angel."

"Hmmm?" I asked. I had spaced out again.

Brad raised his eyebrows. "I'm worried about you, kid," he said, concerned. "You hardly eat, you look like you slept half an hour last night, and you aren't paying as much attention to life as you used to."

"Please don't worry about me," I said. "It will only make things worse."

And with that, I hurried off to my next class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TK typed furiously on his laptop. _I have to have this article in by Saturday, or I'll miss the concert,_ he thought. 

He stopped for a minute, and looked over at Kari, asleep on the bed. She was one for naps these days. He smiled softly at her. She breathed heavy once, then her eyes fluttered open.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," he said, grinning. Kari didn't seem to hear. She rolled off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. After a few minutes, TK heard the toilet flush. She walked sleepily out of the bathroom and over to TK.

"Hey, you," she said, sitting in his lap. Kari yawned.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. It took a bit of effort to get them all the way around. He rubbed her belly, feeling the baby kick within.

"Have we been gaining a bit of weight?" he teased. 

Kari slapped him playfully on the arm. "Shut up." She looked over at the computer. "What are you working on?"

"An article for the paper," he said. "It's about the terrorism in the States."

"How fun," she said sarcastically. Kari reached over and closed it. "I know something that could be much more fun than that."

"Really?" TK said, playing with the drawstring on her nightgown. "What did you have in mind?"

"I think you know exactly what I have in mind," she said, right before Frenching him hard on the mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the middle of algebra, I started to feel different. Not a good different, though. Bad different. Muy malo. 

I felt dizzy. Woozy. And cold. It was freezing, and I had been wearing a sweater, too. 

_I should have eaten lunch today,_ I thought. _It's probably just low blood sugar or something._

My head seemed to grow lighter and lighter. My hands began to shake, and sweat dripped from my forehead.

It's hard to explain what happened next. All I can say is that I was suddenly surrounded by water. Dark water. Evil water. An ocean. A force that wanted to take me away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony looked up from his homework. He couldn't explain it, but something kept distracting him. He looked over at Angel, to see if she was okay. He was shocked at what he saw.

Angel was flickering. Like an old, untuned TV set. _What the heck?..._

"Angel!" he cried, standing up. The teacher turned to him, annoyed. About everyone else in the class turned around also, confused.

Tony ignored them all. He was still concentrating on Angel, even though she had stopped flickering. The class looked over at her.

Angel turned to face him. The light in her eyes was gone. She looked tired. Her face was pale. She stood, only to feel her legs lock and crumple beneath her. 

"Angel!" Lei screamed. Lei stood up quickly, and caught her before she fell.

"Angel, are you alright?" the teacher asked, concerned. 

"I'm fine--I think," she said softly. 

"Maybe you should go lie down in the nurse's office," she suggested. Angel nodded. "Lei, would you escort her, please?"

"Yes, ma'am," she said, looking at Tony suspiciously. He blushed, and sat down. Lei helped Angel out of the classroom. 

Tony felt mixed up inside. He was afraid for his best friend; he didn't want anything to happen to her. But, he also felt something inside he hadn't felt before. Tony and Angel had always been best friends, but lately he had found himself wishing they were more.

Tony was developing a crush; he understood that. But he didn't dare tell her, for fear of rejection. Especially rejection by his best friend. If he lost her, who would be left? Nobody, that's who. It was all too painful.

No. He would tell her. He will tell her. When the time is right, she will understand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laying down didn't make me feel any better. I was still dizzy and woozy. My stomach didn't hurt, at least. 

The nurse came in to check on me. "Honey, listen, I called your parents and got their answering machine, so I tried your uncles, but they can't come get you since your cousins ride the bus, and I don't want to out you on that filthy thing. I'm gonna let Tony take you home today, alright? You can crash there and get some rest if you need to."

Her words meant little to me. Last period...school was almost over...I could go HOME.

The nurse left the room, and suddenly, I felt the urge to go outside. I sat up, and suddenly I didn't feel so bad anymore. I grabbed my backpack and snuck out of the office. I went outside and sat on a bench to wait for Tony.

Suddenly, my head began to hurt again. _Oh please, someone...come help me..._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Tony rushed out of class as soon as the bell rang. He went straight to the office.

"Excuse me, nurse, may I see Angel?"

The nurse looked rather frantic. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but Angel isn't here. I don't know where she went."

Tony's heart beat faster. He had to find her.

He rushed out of the office to search. He looked basically everywhere--the basement, the science room, the soccer field, even the girls' bathroom. That was a mistake. 

Tony ran outside to the parking lot. _She could be in trouble! She could be in danger! She could be..._

Huh?

Right there. 

He breathed a sigh of relief. She was alright. He rushed over to her.

Angel had her head in her hands. She kept repeating something over and over again. "Otoutousan...otoutousan..."

_Younger brother? What the heck? _"Angel, are you alright?"

"Otoutousan...otoutousan..."

"Angel!" he yelled. He grabbed her hands away from her face. "Snap out of it!"

She looked up at him, her eyes blank. Then they suddenly grew softer, and she whispered, "Tony."

"It's me," he whispered back. She looked away. 

"Angel," Tony said desperately, "please tell me what's wrong!"

"You wouldn't understand."

"How can you say that? I've known you since we were five! Are you getting sick?"

She shook her head no. "It's not an illness...something is..."

"What? Something is what? Is there someone who is trying to hurt you?" He grew panicky.

"No, silly. It's something else. Something...at the beach." Angel was getting paler by the minute.

"The beach?"

"Yeah. Something keeps trying to take me away. To the beach. I don't know if I can resist anymore."

"You've got to!" Tony yelled. "I'll protect you, no matter what the cost! Where are they, Angel? We'll fight them!"

"I can't. I'm sorry. I'm just not strong like you or Brad or Sam or Chino."

"So you're gonna give up? Just like that? Look, Angel, I care too much about you to let anyone take you without a fight!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whoa. Major deja vu. Freaky. I had this same experience in my dream, only it was two other people, and I was watching them. 

I looked up at Tony. "I just got a major case of deja vu," I said, my eyes glittering.

He ran his hands through his hair, still looking at me worriedly. "Yeah, me too."

I looked down at my hands. They were shaking again. 

"Come on," Tony said, offering a hand. "I'll walk you home."

I took his hand, and stood up. Tony grabbed my backpack, and we began our walk.

We walked in silence for awhile. After about fifteen minutes, Tony stifled a yawn. 

I smiled. "Tired?" He nodded.

We were silent again. I had a question for him, and I knew there was only one way to ask it. The blunt, sutpid way I always do. So, once again, my mouth got ahead of my brain.

"Hey, Tony? Remember earlier when you said you really cared for me? What did you mean by that?"

"Oh, um, well, you know, just...stuff."

"Well, you know what? I care about you, too."

BABOOM! My head started spinning as the feeling of deja vu weighed heavily upon my shoulders. After a minute, it stopped. I turned back to Tony and smiled a little, and he blushed. 

The rest of the walk was silent, but satisfying. He walked me to my door. 

I turned the knob. It was locked. I dug into my pockets, looking for my key.

"If your parents aren't home, you can come over to my place," he offered. 

"Okay." By then, I had the door opened, and walked inside. Tony waited outside the door. 

I knew better than to call my parents' names. If one of them wasn't home during the day, them something was definately going on.

I pressed my ear to the bedroom door. Animal noises. I had been right.

I walked back to Tony, closed the door and locked it. His eyes asked a silent question, and I answered by rolling mine.

"Ah."

We walked into his apartment. His parents weren't home, as usual. They were hardly ever home. In fact, I don't remember ever meeting them at all. As far as I know, they have never been to Parent's night, high school orientation, or any of those stupid plays we did when we were little kids.

Tony's life has always been a mystery to everyone. Well, somewhat. No one has seen his parents, or really what his standard of living is. He has a nice apartment and all, but what his family is like...well, we don't know what his family is like. Does he have any brothers or sisters? Are his parents married or divorced? Is he illegitimate? Who does he live with? A parent or guardian?

Tony set my backpack down by the door, and I yawned. "You can lay down on the couch if you want," he offered. "Get some rest. I'll go get you a blanket."

His offer was mighty tempting. "Thanks." I laid down on the couch, feeling my eyes drooping already. He brought me a blanket, and I fell asleep almost immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the Digital World, things were getting chaotic. Black spires that had been destroyed years before were suddenly rising again. Digimon ran to take cover, darting this way and that, dodging this way and that, trying to avoid the dark rings that were comng at them.

The twelve Chosen Digimon sat together in a cave, huddled close to one another. They were scared, angry, and confused. What was making this happen?

Gatomon shivered, huddling close to Gabumon to stay warm. "Oh, Kari, where are you when I need you?" she whispered softly. Her tail flicked back and forth, agitated.

"Don't worry, Gatomon," Patamon said, flying over everyone's heads. "TK and the others are pretty reliable. I don't think they would bail on us when we need them the most."

"But that's just it, Patamon!" Gatomon wailed. "They don't even know we're in trouble!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miraculously enough, I woke up in my own bed. I was confused, dazed, hypnotized...whatever. I got out of bed and walked into the living room.

Mom and Dad were there, waiting for me anxiously on the couch. Mom had her hands folded in her lap--well, what was left of her lap, anyways. They stood when I entered the room.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Mom asked, worried. "We got a message from your teacher that you nearly fainted during class today. Tony brought you home about an hour ago. Are you alright?"

I looked at my watch. It was nearly midnight! How long had I been asleep, exactly?

"I think so," I said slowly. "I mean, it was weird. I was, like, at the beach. But it was really dark. Not, like, midnight dark or anything, but...evil dark. And there were this boy and girl there..."

Mom paled. Dad raised a suspicious eyebrow. They obviously knew someting I didn't.

"Do you have any idea what it meant?" I asked innocently.

Mom shook her head vigourously. Dad cleared his throat. "It's late. You should go to bed."

I nodded, and headed off to my room. One way or another, I was going to find out what was going on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you think she knows?" Kari asked, frantically.

"I don't know. I don't think I know anything anymore," TK said, his head in his hands.

"She can't find out about Gatomon or Patamon or the others," Kari said. "We agreed on that when she was a baby. It's best if she never knows."

"What if she does, Kari?" TK said, standing up. "She's curious. She knows we know something. Angel's the kind of girl that won't give up something until she's got it. She's as stubborn as you. You know that."

Kari's eyes welled up with tears. "I just don't want her to go through the same things I went through! What if Angel falls into the darkness? There will be no one there to catch her if she falls! No one there to watch her back! The DigiDestined's jobs ended nearly twenty-five years ago! We can't go back into the Digital World! At least, not the way we are now!" She began to cry.

TK wrapped his arms around her, knowing that this just wasn't another one of her hormonal fits. This was real. He knew this, mainly because he wanted to cry himself. 

"I hate this," Kari said, sobbing into his chest. "I hate that she doesn't know. I hate that one day, we might wake up and find that she's been beamed up just like I was, but this time, there won't be anyone to break her fall."

He stroked her hair. "I'm going to call Izzy, maybe find out what's going on," he whispered. "You go on back to bed. I'll be there in a little while."

"I don't want to go to bed without you," she whispered.

TK was growing impatient, but the way he acted, you would't be able to tell. "Alright, I'll stay in there until you fall asleep." He walked her into the bedroom, unaware that Angel was no more than twenty feet behind them, hiding in a doorway, recording every word they said on her hand-hald tape recorder.

==================================================================================

Uh-oh! Angel's been a bad girl! And she's getting closer and closer to the truth about her parents. What will happen next? You'll have to wait and see!

Any questions, comments, criticism welcome! Mail to: [jazzgirl1488@yahoo.com][1]. 

   [1]: mailto:jazzgirl1488@yahoo.com



	3. According to Angel: A Message From Genna...

According to Angel

By Jazz

Disclaimer: Puh-leeze. 

====================================================================================

Part Three

***Reality check***

Angel's been having strange experiences of deja vu--but are they her own experiences, or her parents? As she gets closer and closer to the truth, the mysterious "Child of Light" will soon be revealed. 

Don't remember whose kids are whose? Here's a reminder:

Kari and TK: Angel, and another on the way  
Tai: Brad  
Matt and Sora: Chino and Kara  
Izzy and Mimi: Flora and Tina  
Joe: Jason  
Cody: Lei  
Davis: Marcus  
Yolei and Ken: Sam, Mari, and another on the way  
(Tony doesn't have DigiDestined parents)

***Present day***

I turned the volume down low on the cassette player, shut the door, and put a towel under it. I crawled into bed, and began to play. I listened to the conversation I had heard only moments ago. My mother started out talking.

"Do you think she knows?"

"I don't know. I don't think I know anything anymore."

"She can't find out about Gatomon or Patamon or the others. We agreed on that when she was a baby. It's best if she never knows."

"What if she does, Kari? She's curious. She knows we know something. Angel's the kind of girl that won't give up something until she's got it. She's as stubborn as you. You know that."

"I just don't want her to go through the same things I went through! What if Angel falls into the darkness? There will be no one there to catch her if she falls! No one there to watch her back! The DigiDestined's jobs ended nearly twenty-five years ago! We can't go back into the Digital World! At least, not the way we are now!" 

Crying sounds were heard. Mom spoke again, but it was more muffled this time. "I hate this. I hate that she doesn't know. I hate that one day, we might wake up and find that she's been beamed up just like I was, but this time, there won't be anyone to break her fall."

"I'm going to call Izzy, maybe find out what's going on. You go on back to bed. I'll be there in a little while."

"I don't want to go to bed without you." 

"Alright, I'll stay in there until you fall asleep." 

I pushed the stop button. That was when the conversation had ended. 

I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, and rewound the tape. I played it again, and wrote things down as I went along: _Gatomon, Patamon, darkness, DigiDestined, Digital World, Izzy._

In the words Gatomon and Patamon, they both had the suffix _mon._ I underlined it in both of those words. And then I realized something else.

In the dream I had, the terms _Gatomon_ and _Digimon_ were both used. They both had that same suffix. And, the words _DigiDestined, Digital World,_ and _Digimon_ all had the prefix _Digi._ Digi meaning _Digital,_ or having to do with computers. 

Digimon. That word echoed in my brain. What did it mean? Digital-something. Digital-Mon. 

I walked over to my bookshelf and pulled open the dictionary. I opened it under "M," and continued turning until I got to the page I was looking for. I ran my finger down it until it stopped at the one word that stood out in front of me.

Monster.

Digimon. Digital Monster? It was the only one that made any sense whatsoever. Were those creatures--Gatomon, those sea creatures, Angewomon, and the horse-looking thing--were they Digimon? They were certainly strange and abnormal enough to be monsters. But Digital--controlled by computers? 

Another word that I had written down sprang out at me. _Izzy._ Hmm...that name...it sounded so familiar. Where had I heard it? I was positive that neither of my parents had mentioned it before...or maybe they had, and it just slipped my mind.

I reviewed the rest of the list. Mom had said something about the darkness. What was the darkness? Obviously, it was a place that Mom had been, and she had not enjoyed it one little bit. Was that that dark ocean where we were in my dream? It must be...what else could it be? Whatever it was, she obviously didn't want me to go there. She had survived it, but would I? I wasn't sure. 

I knew very little, but I knew that I was going to have to protect myself from some dangerous force at all costs. Something was after me and my family. And even though there was little I could do right now, I knew that in time, something would come up. I had to protect Mom, Dad, and the baby. They couldn't do it alone. And neither can I.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony folded the blanket on the couch, exhausted. He had stayed up nearly all night, just sitting next to Angel. Making sure she slept peacefully. 

_The things I do for love._ He sighed. 

"Tony!" a voice in the master bedroom called. Tony stood, and sleepily walked down the hall. 

"Yes, Grandpa?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

A tiny, short little man was sitting on the bed. "Did you finally get that friend of yours home?" he asked. He was as wired as hell. Although Grandpa Tanishi looked like he was a hundred and twelve, he was a very energetic person, standing at only about four feet and eleven inches tall. 

"Yes, Grandpa."

"Good. What's her name, anyways?" he asked, although he knew very well what her name was.

"Angel Takaishi, Grandpa." Tony was nearly asleep by now.

"Takaishi?" he asked pleasantly. "I once knew a boy named Takaishi. A fine boy. A bit of a crybaby at times, but I imagine he grew out of it eventually."

"Was he an insomniac that had nightmares about evil creatures and beaches?" Tony muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Nothing, Grandpa."

"Very well, then." He studied the boy. "You may go to bed now. It has been a long day for us all. I assume you're pretty tired."

"You have no idea."

Grandpa Tanishi chuckled. "Good night, Anthony."

"'Night, Grandpa." Tony stumbled into his own bedroom, and shut the door. When he was certain that he was asleep, Grandpa Tanishi reached under his bed and pulled out a laptop. He logged into his e-mail account, and checked every box in his address book, in preparation to send an e-mail. He thought for a moment, composing, then began to type.

Greetings, DigiDestined!

This may come as quite a shock to you, since most of you haven't heard from me in nearly twenty years. But the times are changing rapidly, along with the Digital World. 

Evil has not left. It never has. And, still today, it looms its shadow of darkness over the entire earth, planning to strike at any given moment.

I hate to do this. But it seems as though the services of the DigiDestined are needed once again. Dark Spires are rising, Black Gears, Dark Spirals, and Dark Rings are returning, and the cause of all this trouble is somewhat unknown. We need you twelve to please do what you can in order to protect the two worlds. 

This is not a direct order. Please reply immediately to this e-mail address. I look forward to seeing you all again. 

Sincerely,  
  
Gennai

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't go to school the next day. Mom stayed home with me, and Dad went off to his office at the _Odaiba Gazette,_ where he was a reporter. 

I woke up around noon, which was fine with me. I lounged around in my pajamas all day, eating junk food, watching TV, and surfing the Internet. I found that I was returning to my old self again, which was a relief. 

Dad got home around four o'clock that afternoon. Mom and I were still in our pajamas, sitting on the couch, watching a very strange soap opera. It was about a girl that was engaged to this really rich guy that she was in love with, but was being very secretive because his ex-father got her drunk, married her, and seduced her while her brother was out on a boat with his fiancée, and her father blew up the boat, and she was cremated after her funeral. Strange, huh?

Anyways, as soon as Dad got home, he went straight to work. He said something about getting the article finished before Saturday so he could go to the concert. Whatever that meant. 

He was back in his bedroom for nearly two hours. After awhile, Mom said she had to get some work done, too, and abandoned me to go to the family computer in the other room. I heard the Internet dial-up, and, a few moments later, Mom called out, "TK? TK could you please come here for a minute?"

"Hang on, I'll be there in a second." 

"No, TK, please, this is important. VERY important. I need you to come here NOW."

"Alright, Kari, I'm coming."

You know that Britney Spears song, "I'm a Slave For You"? Sometimes I wonder....

My father went into the computer room. All was silent for a minute, as he was obviously reading whatever Mom had asked him to. After a few moments, I heard him suck in his breath.

"This is bad."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, duh, it's bad!" Kari said harshly. "We haven't spoken to Gennai in nearly twenty years, and now he wants us to come back? Why now? I can't go back into the Digital World the way I am now! And neither can Yolei. What's going to happen?"

"Shhh, Kari, calm down," TK whispered. "We don't want Angel to hear."

He led her back into their bedroom and shut the door. "Listen, I'll talk to the others and find out what's going on. You need to rest. Try not to worry."

"I don't want to rest! I want to help! I want to find out what's going to happen to us! And our children!"

"If you don't want to rest," TK said calmly, "I'll make you rest." He picked her up against her will, and dropped her onto the bed. She was hopping mad.

"I want you to stay here," he ordered. "I'll be back in a few hours." He was halfway out the door before she started after him. TK spun around and frenched her on the mouth hard, surprising her. She stumbled backwards, and TK made a mad dash for the door. 

On the way out, he passed Angel. "Gottagobebacksoonloveyabye!" He opened the front door, and ran out.

Angel raised her eyebrows. Kari wobbled into the living room, a dazed smile on her face.

"What's with Dad?" she asked suspiciously.

"Hmm?" Kari only then realized her daughter was in the room. "Oh. He's just...being his romantic self."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I rolled my eyes. My parents could be really sappy at times. Even worse than the stupid soap opera I was watching.

"You know what? I think I'll go take a nap," Mom said. She walked back into her bedroom and shut the door. 

I held my breath and counted to one hundred. I was almost certain she was asleep. I crept over to the computer quietly, and logged back into my mother's e-mail address. Mom had gotten a disturbing e-mail, and it had frightened both her and Dad. If I was correct, it had something to do with what they were talking about the other night. And what they were hiding from me.

I opened her inbox. The latest e-mail had come from Gennai@digimonworld.com. Who the heck was that? I opened the mail, and eagerly read its contents.

  
**Greetings, DigiDestined!**

This may come as quite a shock to you, since most of you haven't heard from me in nearly twenty years. But the times are changing rapidly, along with the Digital World.

Evil has not left. It never has. And, still today, it looms its shadow of darkness over the entire earth, planning to strike at any given moment.

I hate to do this. But it seems as though the services of the DigiDestined are needed once again. Dark Spires are rising, Black Gears, Dark Spirals, and Dark Rings are returning, and the cause of all this trouble is somewhat unknown. We need you twelve to please do what you can in order to protect This is not a direct order. Please reply immediately to this e-mail address. I look forward to seeing you all again. the two worlds.

This is not a direct order. Please reply immediately to this e-mail address. I look forward to seeing all again.

Your friend and advisor,

Gennai 

Okay, that right there? That's messed up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't wait for the concert this Saturday!" Lei squealed. 

Sam laughed. "Neither can I. But right now I'm supposed to be tutoring you in math. And so far, we've only done three problems."

Lei rolled her eyes. "I hate math," she said exasperatedly. "Everything about it sucks big donkey balls. Like I really wanna know what _x_ means. Do we really need to know the Roman numerals? The only thing they're good for is figuring out what year a movie was made in the film credits. And metric conversions? Please. Do I really have the burning desire to find out how many centimeters are in a millimeter?"

"That's millimeters in a centimeter, and it's one thousand."

"Whatever."

"We really need to get back to work."

"Hey, I wonder how Angel's doing? Do you think she's okay?"

"I bet she's working on her math homework right now."

"No, she's probably sleeping."

"You're avoiding this."

"Am not."

"Are, too."

"Am not."

"Are, too."

"Am not."

"Are, too."

"Okay, maybe I am." 

Lei and Sam looked up at each other, and smiled at their goofiness. 

"C'mon, we really need to get to work," Sam said. He grinned again. "Read the question aloud, please."

"If the sum of 3x and 5x equals the sum of energy times the speed of light which is also known as matter over mass and is related to the hypoteneuse of a square, then what is four times 3x times the square root of seven?"

"Do they really expect us to answer that?"

"Nah, I just made that up." She giggled. 

"Now all you have to do is dye your hair blonde. Please, read the real question this time."

"Alright, alright already." She pretended to grumble. "Find the volume and surface area of this solid."

"There now, see, that's not so bad now, is it?" Sam asked. He smiled at her a little bit, but her eyes widened as she looked more closely at the figure.

"Um, Sam..." she asked tentatively, trying to hold her giggles back. "What does this picture remind you of?" Lei held up the book, making him view the solid.

Sam stared at it for a minute. His hand clamped over his mouth. "Oh, my God..."

"Maybe we should skip to question five," Lei said hastily. She ran her finger down the page until she came to number five. "Um, find the square root of negative eight." She looked up at Sam. "Isn't it negative--"

He didn't let her finish. He cut her off with an opened-mouth kiss. Lei was surprised at first. Her eyes went wide. Then, she shut them and leaned into the kiss. 

Sam opened his eyes, and pulled away. "I--I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I don't know what came over me...If you were offended, I'm really very sorry..."

"No, wait!" Lei said. She bit her lip. "I'm not offended. In fact--" she glanced down, then looked back up at him again. "I'm kinda glad you did."

She didn't wait for him to respond. She raised herself in her chair, and his lips met hers. 

This time, though, they did not break away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, everything in that e-mail was crap. I mean, totally confusing crap. What the heck are my parents trying to pull? Is this some kind of stupid prank? Were they leading me into some kind of stupid trap? 

There was only one thing to do. I had to find out who this Gennai person was. I hit the "Reply" button at the bottom of thee screen. When the "Compose Message" screen came up, I hit the "Send" button. Whoever this guy was, he was gonna get a blank e-mail from my mom. Well, not really.

I waited for about ten minutes, then suddenly, a box popped up on the screen: 

"You've got mail!"

I eagerly clicked on it, hoping for some kind of clue. I opened the message, and read its contents.

**Mail sent to ****Gennai@digimonworld.com**** User and domain unknown. ******

**There may be problems with our servers. Please try again later.**

I leaned back in my chair and groaned. Back to the drawing board. 

I sighed. _Oh, well. As long as I'm online, I can at least check my own mail._

I logged into my account, and clicked on My Inbox. I had only one message. I opened it quickly.

I gasped as I read the return address. It was from Gennai@digimonworld.com! I read it eagerly. 

**Stop meddling in your parents' affairs, Angel. They will only make things worse.******

I gasped again. Maybe this wasn't a hoax after all.

===========================================

A lot stranger and shorter than the last one, I know. But I am trying to budget my time carefully, you know. ^_~ Chapter Four should be coming up soon!


	4. According to Angel: Trust

Untitled According to Angel: Part Four 

***Reality Check***

While Lei and Sam have begun a new relationship, Angel has just discovered an e-mail to her parents from Gennai. Things start to unravel as the old DigiDestined are called back once again to fight evil in the Digital World. 

***Present Day*******

TK rushed down the street. When he got to the corner, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Matt's number.

Kara answered. "Hello, Ishida Mental Institute, to whom may I direct your call?"

"Very funny, Kara," TK said dryly.

"Hi, Uncle TK. Wasabi?"

"May I speak to your dad, please Kara?" 

"Sure thing. DADDIO!" she yelled, directly into the phone. TK cringed, and held it away from his ear. After a moment, he heard his older brother's deep voice on the end of the line. "Hello?"

"Matt, did you get the e-mail?"

"What e-mail?"

"The one from Gennai!"

Matt sucked in his breath. "Gennai sent us an e-mail?"

"Yeah, it's pretty important. You better check it. Do you think Sora already did?"

"I think she would have told me if she did," Matt replied. "Hang on, I'll go check right now. I'll call you back in about fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Alright, man. Talk to you in a few minutes." TK pressed the End button. Then, he dialed Izzy and Mimi's number. Mimi answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Meems, it's TK."

"Hey, TK! How are you? How's Kari? How's Angel? How's the baby?"

"Fine, fine, fine, and fine. But that's not what I was calling about."

Mimi suddenly dropped her voice to a whisper. "You got that e-mail from Gennai, didn't you?"

"Yep. Did Izzy do anything about it?"

"He called all the DigiDestined, except Matt and Ken and Yolei and Sora, because he couldn't get in touch with them," Mimi explained.

"I just talked to Matt a minute ago," TK said. "He had no clue. I doubt he's checked his e-mail in about three years."

Mimi laughed. "So, how is Kari? It's hard to believe she's pregnant again. I didn't think you two would want another child."

"Me neither. It kinda just—happened. But we don't regret it now." TK smiled, remembering all the turmoil he and Kari had put themselves through in the first couple of months. He thought hell had cursed them in the worst way possible, but instead, heaven had given them the most wonderful blessing they could never have asked for. It was almost like they were getting another chance.

"Yeah, that's the way it is," she said cheerfully. 

There was a pause. Suddenly, Mimi exclaimed, "Oh! Izzy just walked in the door! Do you want to talk to him?"

"Sure." TK waited a few minutes before he heard a voice answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Izzy? It's TK. What do you know about the e-mail from Gennai?"

Izzy sighed. "Not that much. I've been trying to reach him. He's staying somewhere in Tokyo, but I can't seem to track him down. If only he hadn't confiscated the DigiVices…" 

"I know, but we can't do anything about that. Maybe we'll get them back when we find him. Then we can save the Digital World again."

"Do you think Kari and Yolei are up to it?"

It was TK's turn to sigh. "I know Kari thinks she is. Emotionally, yes, definitely. Mentally—well, I'm actually starting to question her sanity. Physically…hell no."

Izzy laughed. "I remember when Mimi was pregnant with the girls…both times. She was a pain in the ass." He laughed again. "But you know what? It's been fifteen years, and I don't care anymore."

TK laughed. Then he grew serious again. "So anyways…you don't know anything about what's going on?"

"Nope. I know the Digimon are in trouble—along with the rest of the world. And I know that some force that is using the power of all of our defeated enemies."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I were."

"So this is gonna be our biggest battle yet? Bigger than Apocolymon? Bigger than Piedmon and Malomyotismon and…bigger than Zendiogimon?"

"Yeah," Izzy said, sighing again. "If I could track this stupid address, then I could find Gennai, then all would be well with the world…Digital World, that is…"

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found."

"Then why would he send us that e-mail?"

"When it comes to Gennai, who knows?"

"Yeah. I guess you're right, TK." Izzy was silent for a moment, and TK could practically hear the wheels turning in his head. 

TK said, "It's amazing. How can this be bigger than anything we've ever faced before? I thought Zendiogimon was biggest one of them all. I mean, seriously, he stripped us of our--"

"FLORA! COME PICK UP YOUR BOOKS AND TAKE THEM TO YOUR ROOM!" Izzy suddenly bellowed. Once again, TK winced, and held the small phone away from his ear. When he was sure the yelling had ceased, he pulled it back. 

"You there, TK?"

"That's the second time today that that has happened."

Izzy laughed. "Just tending to my fatherly responsibilities." 

"I know what you mean. Angel is exactly the same. She won't do anything we tell her."

"It's hard raising girls, isn't it?"

TK laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. Did you know, though, that Angel's ultrasound said she was gonna be a boy?"

"Seriously? Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't tell anybody," TK explained. "I was so excited when the doctor said we were going to have a son. I was so prepared to do everything—you know, play sports with, send to Boy Scouts camp, and teach him all the stuff that I know."

"Wow," said Izzy. "I never knew."

"Yeah. I tried really hard not to show my disappointment, but I guess Kari noticed anyways. She always does, you know. So I did my best to turn her into a tomboy. And look at what happened."

Izzy laughed again. "TK, you have one crazy little teenager there."

"Yep. But we wouldn't have any other way. I'm glad she was a girl, otherwise I might not be able to understand her the way that I do."

"What if the baby is a boy? What will happen then? Will you understand him the same?"

"He'd have to be gay for me to understand him the same way I do Angel."

"Ha, ha."

"I think I'll be okay with either. I mean, I wanted a boy before, but I think I understand girls better now because of Angel."

"You're lucky, TK," Izzy said, sighing wistfully. "At your age, most guys don't even know who they are or what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But you—you've got it all figured out."

TK heard a beeping sound in the background. "I gotta run, TK," he said, "but if I hear anything at all from Gennai or anyone else, I'll call you."

"'Bye." TK hung up. He stared at his cell phone before slipping it back into his coat pocket.

_You think I've got my entire life figured out, Izzy?_ TK thought. _Well, I don't. Everyone thinks I have it all, when really, I don't know what I have._

It would take one step forward and two steps back again before Takeru Takaishi would turn and head for home.

I was well enough to go to school on Friday. I tried to pretend like nothing had happened, but that was harder than I thought. Everyone looked at me differently, like I had a disease or something. The teachers were far too cheerful. And my friends were constantly worried.

I looked at my hands a lot, or down at the floor. I hardly spoke, which is rare. When Tony and I walked home that afternoon, he kept stealing glances at me, studying my face, trying to decide my every thought, opinion, and emotion that crossed my mind.

After about fifteen minutes, I got agitated. "Stop it, Tony! I'm fine! And I can look out for myself! Don't look so confused; I know what you're thinking. And I'm not sick."

Tony stared guiltily at the ground. "Sorry, I'm only worried. It's just…you were acting so strange the day before, and I was just…concerned."

"Why? I can take care of myself. You know that."

"You're my best friend, Angel," Tony explained. "It's my job to care about you."

I smiled at that. Maybe now everything would be okay.

"Hey, do you wanna come over this afternoon?" Tony asked. "We could hang out, play video games, watch some TV, stuff like that."

"Sure. Just let me clear it with Mom and Dad, first."

We got to the apartment building and ran up the stairs. I used my key to get into the apartment. I saw a note left on the kitchen counter, and picked it up.

Angel,

Dad's at your Uncle Matt's apartment, and I had to finish grading some tests at the elementary school. I probably won't get home until late. I don't know about your dad. There's a couple of frozen pizzas and ice cream in the freezer, and potato salad in the fridge. I'll see you later, sweetie.

Love,

Mom

"Cool," I said. "I'll call her and ask if it's okay to go to your place. If she says yes, we can bring all of this food over to your apartment and cook it there."

"Sure," he said, and I picked up the phone. I dialed Mom's work number.

"Hello, Hikari Takaishi speaking."

"Hey, Mom, it's Angel. Is it okay if Tony and I go hang out at his place tonight?"

"Hi, darling. Is it all right with his parents?"

"Hang on, I'll ask." I put my hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Tony, "She wants to know if it's alright with your parents."

Something happened then that I didn't expect. A look of pain flashed across Tony's face, then left as quickly as it had come. He nodded.

I spoke into the phone again. "They said it's okay."

"Then I'll see you later then. Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, mom." I hung up. Then I said to Tony, "Let's get the food over at your place and start cooking. I'm starved!"

Kari closed her grade book with a sigh. _Finally_, she thought. _I'm done. I can leave._

She pushed herself away from her desk and stood. Kari grabbed her cell phone, purse, and keys, and walked out of the kindergarten classroom and locked the door. 

_I probably shouldn't go home right away. No one will be there anyways._ Kari made her way out to the car when the phone rang inside her purse.

_Oh, shi…taki mushrooms,_ she thought. Kari put her keys in her mouth, and struggled to open her purse. She pushed the TALK button on her cell phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Hikari."

"Um, hi…who is this?"

The voice on the other end of the line chuckled warmly. "It's been a long time. It's no surprise that you don't recognize my voice."

"Who are you? Please tell me!"

"Hikari…this is Gennai."

Kari nearly let the phone tumble out of her hands. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Gennai?"

We popped the pizzas in the oven, then hooked up his video games to the TV. The pizza was done in about fifteen minutes, and we sat at the table to eat.

Tony kept stealing suspicious glances me, until I finally burst. "Stop looking at me like that!" I cried. "What's the matter with you?

"What's the matter with me? What's the matter with _you_? I thought—we were supposed to be best friends, Angel. The kind of friends that tell each other everything. But you keep saying that nothing happened. Well, Angel, something did happen! You flipped out because something incredible happened to you, but you feel like you can't tell me what it was!"

I was shocked, but not so shocked that I couldn't retaliate. "Well, what about you? In the ten years that I have known you, I have never met your parents. I don't even know that you have parents! For all I know, you could be hiding out from the child services! Talk about keeping secrets, Tony, I don't even know who you _are!"_

A shot of pain was flashed across his face, and we were both silent for a minute. "I didn't tell you," I began, "because I didn't think you would believe me. What's happening to me—it's kinda hard to explain."

"Then let me explain first," he said. Tony stood, and walked around to my side of the table. He took my hand in his, and I stood, also. He led me down the hall, to his bedroom, a room I had seen him access several times, but had never been in myself.

Tony opened a dresser drawer, and pulled out a photo frame. He held it close to his chest for a moment, then motioned me to come closer. I walked up to him, and he lowered the frame so that I could see.

In the picture, there were two people, a man and woman. The woman was blonde and pretty, and she was sitting on a swing. The man was tall, and he looked a lot like Tony. He was pushing the woman on the swing. They were both smiling, and I noticed something else. The woman was pregnant. Remarkably pregnant.

"These are my parents," he whispered. "They died in a car crash when I was two weeks old. I live with my grandfather."

Oh, my God…

"Oh, my gosh! Gennai!" Kari cried. "I don't believe it's you! It's been so many years!"

"I know, Hikari. But listen to me. I didn't call just to chat."

"It's about that e-mail, isn't it? The one you sent about the Digital World?"

"Yes," Gennai replied. "I need to see you this moment. I am at Yamato and Sora's apartment. Please come over immediately."

"Of course! I'll be there in a few minutes!" Kari hung up the phone. She climbed into the car, and shut the door, and started it up. She drove out of the school parking lot, and to her brother-in-law's house.

"And that's the whole story," I said. "If you don't believe me, I understand, because it's not an easy story to believe."

Tony stared at me with the purest eyes I had ever seen. "I believe you," he said. "I believe you because I know you would never lie to me. And when you do, you're really bad at it."

I laughed. How could I have doubted Tony?

"So come on," he said. Are we gonna finish eating that pizza or what?"

"Sure," I said. I followed him back to the kitchen, and we finished the pizza. After we cleaned the kitchen, he asked, "So what do you wanna do now? We've played every video game I've owned, and watched everything on TV that was anything worth watching. So…what now?"

"Computer?" I asked.

"You got it!" We rushed over to the computer, and he pulled up another chair for me. I sat down, and Tony switched on the monitor. A window flashed up on the screen, giving him two options. 

SAVE PROGRAM TO:

_FILE

_DISK

"What's this?" I asked.

"Grandpa must have been downloading something," Tony mused. "I wonder what it is? Let's check it out."

He opened the program. A setup window popped up, and Tony registered under Gennai Tanishi. I guess that's his grandfather's name. 

As soon as the setup was done, another window opened. There was a Quicktime animation, then the most unexpected words popped up: DIGIMON: THE GAME. 

"What the heck?" I asked, confused. Then I scowled. "This is a trick, isn't it? Some kind of pathetic prank on me?"

"No! I promise, Angel, I don't know what's going on! Let's just finish this, and then we'll figure it out from there. Okay?"

"Fine," I snapped. I turned to face the computer, seeing that the next section had come up.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: ONE/TWO

"Two?" Tony asked.

"Sure."

He selected two. A fill-out profile came up, and Tony answered them first.

NAME: Tanishi Anthony

AGE: 15

BIRTH PARENTS NAMES: Tanishi Hiroki & Tanishi Leruki

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 145 lbs.

HAIR: Brown

EYES: Brown

D.O.B.: August 4, 1986

"Your turn, Ange,'" he said, handing me the keyboard.

NAME: Takaishi Angel

AGE: 14

BIRTH PARENTS NAMES: Takaishi Takeru & Takaishi Hikari

HEIGHT: 5'2"

WEIGHT: 110 lbs.

HAIR: Blonde

EYES: Green

D.O.B.: December 8, 1986

I pressed ENTER, and handed the keyboard back to Tony. To my surprise, a computerized robot voice jumped out of the speakers.

"Data processing!" it boomed. I recoiled. "Please wait!"

After a few minutes, the voice came back. Surprisingly, it spoke directly to Tony! "Anthony! You are the new keeper of the Crest of Hope! You are assigned to Patamon!"

"Patamon…" I gasped. Tony looked over at me, eyes wide. I grabbed his hand, and didn't let go.

Suddenly, it spoke to me! "Angel! You are the new keeper of the Crest of Light! You are assigned to Gatomon! Please hold on, for you are about to be transported to the DIGITAL WORLD!"

A portal appeared on the screen of the monitor. Not letting go of Tony's hand, I reached up to touch the monitor. I felt a vast amount of air pressure on my arm, but before I could pull my arm back, Tony and I were both dragged into the portal.

"EIAHHHHH!" we both screamed. I was still clutching his hand, although the fierce winds inside the swirling portal threatened to tear us apart. All of a sudden, we weren't spinning anymore.

We were falling. I landed with a thud on the ground next to Tony. I laid there until my head stopped spinning. After a moment, I sat up with a groan, and looked around. I gasped at what I saw.

"Whoa…"

!@#$!@#$!@ !@#$!@#$!@ !@#$!@#$!@ !@#$!@#$!@ !@#$!@#$!@ !@#$!@#$!@ 

Buahahahaha! I finally got the fourth chapter up! Yay! I know you guys have been just _dying,_ so I tried to finish it as quickly as I could. You can e-mail me at jazzgirl1488@hotmail.com with comments, suggestions, etc. 

var PUpage="76001082"; var PUprop="geocities"; var yviContents='http://us.toto.geo.yahoo.com/toto?s=76001082 geovisit(); 


	5. According to Angel: The Truth is Out

**According to Angel: Part Five**

  


Hello again, I'm finally bringing you the fifth part of According to Angel. I know you have all been waiting anxiously, and I hope the sixth part will be up soon. For now, enjoy!

~Jazz~

  


***Reality Check***

TK learns that the new enemy in the Digital World will be bigger than anything they've ever faced. Kari gets a mysterious call from Gennai, and Tony and Angel are pulled into the Digital World by an unknown force.

  


***Present Day***

  


Kari drove as quickly as possible to Matt and Sora's apartment without getting stopped by a policeman. She pulled into a parking space, then got out of the car. She took the elevator up to their apartment, then knocked on the door. 

Sora answered it. "Kari!" she said, enveloping her into a hug. "We've been waiting for you."

"I'm sorry, I came as soon as he called--"

"Don't be, it's alright," she said, giving one of her genuine Sora smiles. "Come on in! Sit down, you must be exhausted. We're still waiting for Ken and Yolei. Don't worry, the kids aren't home."

Kari was amazed by her older friend. Sora was much taller, and she seemed to whaft through the room without a care in the world. She seemed to have her life completely organized. There was a wrinkle in neither sweater nor skirt. Every hair was in place, her makeup was applied neatly, and when she walked, she walked with grace.

Kari, on the other hand, viewed herself as less than Sora. Her life was hardly organized; there was always some bill she forgot to pay, or a test she forgot to grade. The clothes she wore daily were not fashionable, and she wore little makeup, for the small children she taught were highly impressionable.

_Even though Sora is beautiful and admirable, I don't envy her at all,_ Kari mused to herself._ I have a husband that I love endlessly, a daughter that is hard to love at times, but I love her all the same, and another one coming along that will add to the love I have for my family. And I have friends that I care about_.

Kari followed Sora into the living room. "Hi, Kari," they chorused. 

"Hi, everyone," she greeted. She took a place on the couch between TK and Mimi. She exchanged a quick kiss with him. "Where is he?" she asked.

"Gennai?"

"Who else?"

"Hiding. Somewhere in the apartment. I don't know where he is, and he's not coming out until Ken and Yolei get here."

"Have you already seen him?" Kari asked.

"Yeah," TK replied, grinning. "I was the first one here."

Kari whacked him playfully in the side. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

TK slid his arm around her waist. "I thought it would be a nice surprise, seeing our old mentor for the first time in about twenty years."

"I've had enough surprises in the past few months, thank you very much."

They didn't realize it, but the entire room was watching them.

_Ah, young love,_ Matt thought, smiling. He took Sora's hand in his own, and sqeezed it.

_Aww..._ Tai grinned.

_Isn't that adorable,_ Sora thought, sqeezing Matt's hand back.

Izzy sat on the arm of the couch next to Mimi. He looked over at her and thought, _I can't believe it. We're all still so much in love after all this time._

_If this is how much in love people get when they're having another baby,_ Mimi thought with a smile,_ then I almost want to get pregnant again!_

Davis folded his arms over his chest and grinned. _It's a good thing I gave her up,_ he thought. _She never would have been that happy with me. And vice-versa._

Joe nodded his approval. _It's hard to believe how close they are. _

Only one person in the room didn't have wonderful thoughts running through his mind.

Cody rested his arm on the mantle, and turned his head away, not being able to bear the sight.

_I wish that was me,_ he thought. _Oh, Caitlin, I miss you_.

Caitlin Hida had died when their daughter Lei was barely a year old. Cody and the other DigiDestined were the only people who knew what really killed her, but they couldn't tell anyone else. Her obituary stated that she died of pancreatic cancer, but Cody knew the truth. 

When Caitlin died, Cody sort of locked himself up tight and threw away the key. He was a single father trying to raise a girl on his own, and it was nearly impossible, for he had a job that took up alot of his time. So he hired a nanny to look after her, and rarely spent any time at home. He loved Lei terribly, and would give his all to keep her safe, but he couldn't look at her without thinking of Caitlin. And thinking of Caitlin made want to cry.

"Hey! Earth to Cody? Cody, are you there?" Davis knocked on his head. 

Cody brushed his hand away, and gave a half smile. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Cody sighed in response.

"Caitlin?" Davis's voice dropped to a whisper.

Cody nodded. "Sitting there, watching them...it makes me think of how much I loved her. And how much I still do."

Davis nodded.

"I miss her. She needs to be here."

"It's okay, Cody," Davis said softly. "It's been fifteen years. You need to move on."

"I wish I could...but sometimes, I just don't want to."

"I know what you mean," Davis replied. "It was hard to move on after Gwen and I divorced, but we did. I'm glad we did."

"But you didn't have to lose her," Cody said, looking away.

"In a way, I did. I lost her to a loveless marriage."

Just then, the front door was opened, and the people in the living room could hear Sora welcoming Ken and Yolei into their home. They came into the living room, and Ken helped Yolei sit down in an armchair.

Kari clutched TK's arm excitedly. The all waited expectantly, and suddenly, a voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Well, now that you're all here, I think we can finally move on with this meeting."

A puff of smoke exploded in the front of the room. When it cleared, there was a tiny little man standing there, coughing and clearing it away.

"Gennai!"

*~*

I sat up, and looked around. Only one thing could describe what I saw.

"Whoa."

Tony opened his eyes and groaned. He sat up, and rubbed the back of his head. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide.

"Whoa," he repeated.

We were in...well, the Digital World, I guess. It was beautiful. The nature was

awesome. We were in, like, a clearing in the forest or something, and the trees and flowers, and the sky...it just seemed to be so much more detailed and elaborate and beautiful than what we were used to. 

I stood, then offered a hand to pull up Tony. He took it, and stood, brushing himself off.

"What a rush," he said.

I continued looking around, auntil my eyes travelled downwards. I gasped. "Our clothes changed!" I said.

Indeed they had. I was wearing a regular pair of blue jean flares, a fitted pink halter top that came up right above the middriff, an denim jacket, and a pair of sneakers.

Tony's clothes had changed too. He was wearing carpenter khakis, sneakers, and cutoff Adidas teeshirt.

He looked up at me, grinned, and shrugged. "Beats the school uniform any day."

I kept turning around, admiring everything. Suddenly, I heard a low rumble.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked tentatively.

"I don't know what you think it is, but I know it's thunder!" Tony grabbed my hand. "Run!"

The sky seemed to break open and pour its wrath out upon the world. Never in my life had I seen such heavy rain! It hurt when it came crashing down, and I did my best to run through and get out of it. 

After we had been running for a few minutes, Tony squinted his eyes, and pointed over to the rockside. "It's a cave!" he yelled. "We can stay there until the rain stops!"

We ran inside. Inside the cave, it was damp and cold. I shivered, and tightened my jacket around me.

We were both soaked to the skin. The rain had pounded hard and cold, and made the back of my neck hurt. I rubbed it.

"Hey, Angel, check this out," Tony said. He motioned for me to come over.

I walked over next to him, and tried to make out what he was looking at. The cave was dark, so I could barely see. Tony was squatting before a pile of wood, and he reached down to touch it.

"It's a bonfire," he explained. "And it's still smoldering. That means whatever was here before us hasn't been gone very long."

"And maybe their coming back."

Tony turned around. "You say something, Angel?"

"No...I thought you did."

"Then, who...?" Tony trailed off. He turned around.

"You're both wrong! I said it! And I'm the one who built the fire!"

I spun around. I gasped and stepped back when I saw what was standing there.

A small creature, slightly resembling a cat and a rabbit, was standing in the entrance of the cave. She--at least, I think it was a she--was drenched with rainwater, and looked extremely angry.

She took a step forward. "I don't know who you are," she rasped angrily, "but I'll bet on my whiskers that you can't mean anything good! LIGHTING CLAW!" She jumped forward with almost superhuman--Superhuman? Supercat? Superrabbit? Whatever--speed. On one...paw, I guess, there was a glove, and that hand reached out, and slashed Tony hard across the face.

"Augghhhhh!" he yelled. He fell backwards. 

"Tony!" I ran over to him, and knelt beside him. Gently, I touched the bleeding marks on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Ow!" he yelled, a hand reaching up to remove mine. 

"Obviously not," I commented. I then grew angry. I spun around and glared at the creature. I pointed my finger at her. "You!" I yelled. "What the hell did you do that for? What did Tony ever do to you? You ought to be condemned!"

I recogized her as soon as her cat-like eyes glowed a bright pink. "Cat's Eye Hypnosis!" Suddenly, bright pink sparks flew everywhere, and I dodged them just in time.

"You stop that!" I screamed. "Gatomon!"

*~*

"Gennai!" Kari sqealed. She jumped up off the couch and ran to hug her old mentor.

Kari released her grip on him, and looked at him up and down. "You look different again," she said. "Well, not different, really--more like the same as you looked the first time we met you."

Indeed, Gennai certainly looked different. Instead of the tall, handsome man that had been the last they saw him, he was a short man, and he looked as though he was about two hundred years old.

"It is good to see you again, my friends," Gennai began. "But the circumstances that bring me here today are far from good."

Worry crossed the faces of the DigiDestined as Gennai continued. "I know I mentioned some of this in the e-mail, but I didn't give you the full story. There is a new enemy in the Digital World. He is extracting the powers and strong points of every evil Digimon we have ever faced."

"What kind of strong points are we talking about here?" Tai interrupted.

"Imagine Myotismon, Piedmon, BlackWargreymon, Mummymon, Arukenimon, Kymeramon, Devimon, and Zendiogimon all rolled into one."

Mimi paled. This was bad.

"You will have to return to your services as DigiDestined in order to destroy the force that is there now. I have your Digivices and Crests...if you recall, you turned them into me twenty years ago."

"Do you have any idea who the enemy there is now?" Matt asked.

"Well, sort of...not really. We have gotten a recording of him from a Gotsumon spy. I have it with me..." Gennai rummaged through his pockets. "Ah! Here we go!" He pulled put a mini tape player, and pressed play.

A voice, so encouraging, so full of strength and power, burst from the small speakers in the tape player. "And this is why they've gathered together; to comfort your world, attempting to bless you with the glory of light. I alone have not forgotten the silent dread. The time is nigh to conquer a Digimon's silent fear. My Digimon friends, I bless you now with sight! Come forth out your caves, let die your twigs for fire, spill forth your oils of animal fat und wash your hands clean of decaying fuel, I bestow upon you freedom! Forsake your bombarding of atoms, fear god no longer, I, the Emperor of Darkness, demand it so; let there be darkness!"

The tape ended there. "The speaker is and ordinary Digimon," Gennai stated, "but he refers to himself as the Emperor of Darkness."

Kari clutched TK's hand tightly, thinking, _Oh, Gatomon! I wish you were here with us, safe and sound._

*~*

Gatomon's face seemed to soften a bit. "H-How did you know my name?" she stuttered.

"I've seen you. In my dreams, that is. You were...with my mom."

Gatomon's eyes widened. She came closer to me, and looked me hard in the face, studying me. I looked in her eyes as well, and something told me that there was a being behind those eyes that hadn't meant to hurt Tony.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Angel?"

It was my turn to be surprised. "How did you know _my name?!"_

A happy, elated grin spread across Gatomon's face. She sqealed with delight, then ran to me, and tackled me, knocking me backwards onto the ground. She hugged me as tightly as she could with those short little arms of hers, and sqeaked, "I haven't seem you since you were a baby! You've grown so much!"

Okay, this was really starting to freak me out. Tony was looking at me with "What the hell?" written all over his face. Gatomon released her grip on me, then walked over to him.

"I'm sorry I had to treat you so rough," she apologized. "But I didn't know whether I could trust you or not."

"I guess it's...okay," Tony said slowly. I could tell that he was even more confused than I was. 

Gatomon, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what was going on. She was extremely excited. "Wait until the others see you! And...the other children! It's been years..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute," I said. "What the heck is going on? What 'others'? And what other children?"

For the first time since our meeting, Gatomon stopped, and stood still. She looked me straight in the eye. "You don't know anything about this, do you?" she said finally. "Where you are, who I am, how you got here?"

I shook my head. 

"Well...I guess I'll tell you," Gatomon said with a grin. "But only because you're Kari and TK's daughter."

*~*

"There is one other thing you should know about our new enemy," Gennai said.

"What is it?" Izzy asked.

"As of this moment, he is very weak. In order to regain his strength, the Emperor of Darkness needs six things.

"The first thing he needs is the Child of Light. Since Hikari's crest is the Crest of Light, we can only assume that this is relative to her.

"The next thing he needs is the Child of Balance. Since before the common era, the Crest of Balance has stood between the real world and the Digital World, keeping them balanced and at peace with each other. Never before has it been issued to a child--until now. Unfortunately, since this has never occured, we do not have a clue as to who the child is.

"The last four things that the Emperor of Darkness needs are the Child of Hope, the Child of Faith, the Child of Charity, and the Child of Spirit. Only the first of these four crests has ever been issued to a child--and that was to you, Takeru. These others will be issued in time, but to whom, we have no knowledge of. 

"These six crests are what keeps the Digital World and the real world at peace with each other. The other six are what keep the Digital World in motion. When these things are disrupted, all hell will break loose."

The twelve DigiDestined sat there in stoney silence. No one needed to say a thing.

*~*

"So you see, when you're on the internet, and you go to a missing page, and it says 'Page Cannot Be Displayed,' all that information you were trying to process is downloaded into the Digital World, and somewhere, a new Digimon is born." Gatomon concluded her little speech and sat down on a rock in the cave, smiling.

Well, I think I get it. I don't know. I was somewhat lost there for a little while, but...maybe. This was confusing.

Now, Tony...Tony is another story altogether. He was lost. Completely and totally lost. So he coughed and pretended to know what was going on. "Um, that computer thingy said that I had the Crest of Hope and that I was assigned to Patamon."

Gatomon's eyes grew wide. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, I interrupted her. "And it said that I had the Crest of...Light, I think, and that I was assigned to...well, you."

"But that's impossible!" Gatomon sqeaked. "I was assigned to...Kari! And Patamon--Patamon belongs to TK!"

"TK? My dad?"

"Jeez, how many TKs do you know?"

Just then, a noise came from the entrance of the cave. We all turned around. I gasped, and sucked in my breath.

There, standing in the entrance were elevan of the most extremely drenched, semi-cute, semi-ugly, unusual-looking creatures I had ever seen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, that sucked, but hey, it's all good. I'm just glad I got it done. ^^ R+R!


	6. According to Angel: Destiny Disrupted

**According to Angel: Part Six**

  
  


***Author's Note***

I'm just gonna clear a few things up here a bit. First of all, I have gotten several e-mails questioning the ages of the DigiDestined, mainly naming Cody. In this fic, let's all pretend that he's the same age as TK and Kari. 

Warning: This chapter is extremely fluffy. Contains Takari, Miyaken, Kekari, Sorato, Caitori, and Tonangel. Don't like? Don't read.

  
  


***Reality Check***

After Tony and Angel are swept into the Digital World, they encounter Gatomon and the rest of the chosen Digimon. Gennai reveals to TK, Kari, and the others information about the new enemy.

  
  


***Present Day***

"Grrrr....I'm gonna teach that son of a bitch a lesson he'll never forget!" Ken said angrily, slapping his fist into his palm. He stood, and began pacing around the room.

"Ken, please calm down," Yolei pleaded. 

"Ken, that would not be a good idea right now," Gennai reasoned. 

"Why? Why not?"

"Because...you're a part of him."

Ken turned to Gennai in shock. "Wha...what did you just say?"

"I said, there is a part of him that belonged to the Digimon Emperor."

Ken stood there. Yolei buried her face in her hands.

"You don't understand," Gennai explained. "It's almost better this way. It's almost better that you have to face the Emperor of Hatred now then what could have been."

"What do you mean, 'Could have been'?" Ken asked.

Gennai sighed. "I almost don't want to tell you this. But sooner or later, you'll find out from the wrong person. I better just tell you now.

"Twenty-nine years ago, we had to play with the strings of destiny in order for your lives to end up the way we are now. Ken, have you ever once thought of why you were different from Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori? Why you have your own crest, and the other three did not?"

Ken looked away.

"Ken, you were meant to go to summer camp that year with the other children, and get sucked into the Digital World along with them. But, see, we couldn't have you go that summer, because that was the summer that Takeru and Hikari would meet."

TK and Kari exchanged a glance.

"Unfortunately, we had a cruel Digimon who was once a good Digimon, devise a plan that would make you unable to go to camp that sumer. His name was Puppetmon.

"Puppetmon turned to the side of evil after we cast him away. He did a cruel thing to make you stay home, Ken. He--He killed your brother, Osamu."

Ken's knees locked underneath him. He collapsed on the couch next to Yolei again.

"I'm sorry I had to tell you that. But Puppetmon viewed himself as a good Digimon--he just did cruel things. 

"The reason we didn't want to have Ken at the camp was because, well...Hikari would have fallen in love with Ken instead of Takeru."

That hit everyone hard. Kari's knees began to shake. Tears formed in her eyes, and TK glared at Gennai.

"This would have put an end to the Digital World. The children of Hope and Light were needed to secure the blessings of liberty and balance in the DigiWorld. Unfortunately, that balance has been disrupted recently, and we need you back."

Tai ran his hands through his hair. "I feel like I'm being called back into the armed services again."

"Don't worry, Taichi. If all is well, this thing can be taken care of before he gets his strength back--and before the Children are revealed."

Kari could not bear being in there a second longer. She got up from her seat and fled the room. She ran down the hall into a guest bedroom, and slammed the door, locking herself in.

TK ran after her. "Kari!" He reached the room she was in, and pounded on the door. "Kari!"

"I'm not coming out."

"Kari, please!"

"No, TK, I won't. I can't answer to you. You're not my REAL husband. It wasn't meant to be!"

Oh, man... "Kari, come out of there!"

"No!"

TK rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. _She has a right to be upset...and so do I. _He stormed back down the hall, and into the living room. He glared at Gennai, and pointed his finger at him. "Get out."

Matt's mouth dropped open. "TK!"

"No, Yamato, it's alright," Gennai said, standing up. "He has every right to be angry at me."

"Get. Out." TK emphasized every word. "All of you."

All of the DigiDestined began to file out of the apartment, except Matt and Sora.

"You guys, too," TK said stonily.

"What?! But we live here!" Matt nearly yelled.

Sora laid a hand on his shoulder. "Matt, please...let's leave them alone for a little while, okay?"

Matt hesitated. He couldn't say no to Sora. "Alright. We'll give them a few hours." He got up off the couch, and filed in line behind the others. Sora got up and followed him. 

Out of the corner of his eye, TK caught Ken and Yolei trying to leave. "Ken. You stay."

Ken looked over at TK, and nodded. He understood. He turned back to Yolei. "You go on," he whispered softly.

"I'm not leaving without you."

"She can stay," TK told them. The last of the DigiDestined left, and the door shut behind them. "We've got to find a way to bring Kari back to us before she decides to divorce me!"

*~*

A giant flying bug looking thing flew forward. "Who are they, Gatomon?"

Gatomon grinned proudly at us. "This girl here...this is Angel! Don't you recognize her?"

The group fell silent. An orange lizard that came up about halfway past my thigh walked forward. "Your Tai's neice?!"

"Uh. Yeah." I was unsure how to react. How did he know Uncle Tai?

Tony stood, and walked over to me. "Look, I don't know who you are, but as long as your not here to pick a fight...you're fine by me."

I looked up at Tony in surprise. Wasn't he as scared and confused as I was?

I turned back to the group of odd looking creatures. I examined them, analyzed them, looked them up and down, trying to memorize everything so I wouldn't forget it later on.

Besides the bug and the lizard, there were nine others. The first one I looked at appeared to be a plant, although I didn't exactly feel the urge to put it in a flowerpot and stick it in a garden.

The next one was obviously some kind of dinosaur. He was blue, and kinda cute. For some reason, I saw a lot of Marcus in him.

The next appeared to be a cross between a St. Bernard and a unicorn. He was adorable, but odd looking. His fur was drenched with rainwater, so I didn't want to come to close in case he smelled funny.

The one standing next to it looked exactly like an armadillo. Scary right? Not really. In fact, compared to the others, it looked quite normal. And not very scary. Kind of cute, really.

The next creature that I laid my eyes upon was a pink bird. She had a poofy little thingy on top of her head, and a friendly but cautious look in her eyes. I liked her immediately. 

There was another bird standing next to her, but he didn't seem quite as friendly. He looked mean, but it seemed he only appeared to be mean to be protective.

The next one had no legs or arms. It looked kind of like a seal. He had a purple mohawk, and he was adorable. He looked playful, and I saw a bit of mischief behind those violet eyes.

Beside the blue dinosaur stood a little green worm. He looked scared, and kind of hid behind the dino, like he was trying to blend in with everyone else.

The last one, I fell in love with almost automatically. He appeared to be a flying pig, or something, and he was orange. He was smaller than the others, but appeared just as brave. 

He flew forward, and looked me right in the face, and smiled. The smile seemed to stretch past the boundaries of his small face. "Hi! I'm Patamon! I met you a long time ago, but you probably don't remember me."

Patamon had an adorably squeaky voice. "Hi Patamon," I said, smiling back. "It's nice to meet you." He perched himself on top of my head, and--miracle of miracles--he stayed. 

The others began to loosen up around me. The lizard stepped forward first. "I'm Agumon! I'm glad to see you again." He grabbed my hand in his...claw, and shook it. 

I smiled. I think I liked Agumon.

The unicorn/dog came forward after him. "I'm Gabumon," he said. He had a deep voice, and I trusted him immediately. "Any friend of Gatomon's is a friend of mine."

Next came the pink bird. "Hi!" she squawked. She had an unusually high voice. "I'm Biyomon. If you're related to Sora, you can't be half bad!"

Sora? My Aunt Sora?

The bug came forward after Biyomon. It spoke in a robatized voice, "Permit me to introduce myself. I am Tentomon, and it is a pleasure to make your aquantince."

I grinned. He was intelligent, there was no doubt about that.

That plant thing stepped forward next. I wasn't so sure if I liked her or not. She had an unbearably annoying voice. "Hi, I'm Palmon. I don't know you very well, but I would certainly like to!"

Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

Next came the little seal. He looked like he had a great sense of humor. "Hi! The name's Gomamon. I'm glad to meet you. I didn't get to the first time."

"Hi! I'm Veemon! Friends call me Veemon, except Gatomon. She calls me 'moron.'"

The second bird came to me. "Hello, my name is Hawkmon." He had a small smile plastered on his face. I wasn't sure how to take it. It was like one of those baby expressions--the kind where you can't tell if it's a real smile or just gas.

The armadillo came forward. He smiled, and I could tell that I had made a friend. He sounded like a cowboy when he spoke. "Hi! I'm Armadillomon, and I hope we can get to be friends."

The last one was the shy little worm. His voice was wobbly, as if he was unsure of what to say to me. "H-Hi, I'm Wormmon. I may be small, but I can be brave!" Somehow, I doubted that.

I grinned. The Digimon were so friendly--well, most of them. 

"Hey, Angel," Patamon said from atop my head, "who's your friend?"

My eyes turned upward at him, and I smiled. "That's Tony, my best friend," I told him. I grinned at Tony. He was finally starting to relax a bit. 

"Hi," Tony said, tentatively.

"Hi!" Patamon chirped. He was far too cheerful. (Digimon on drugs. Interesting thought.)

Patamon flapped over and sat atop Tony's head, much to his surprise. The expression on his face turned to amusement. 

I turned to the others and smiled. Then my smile turned to nervousness. They were all really very kind, but why did I get the feeling that I had seen them all before? 

And that feeling was not a good one.

*~*

"On the count of three, we'll both slam into the door, and hopefully knock it down," TK instructed.

"Alright," Ken said uneasily. They positioned themselves at the back of the hall.

"One..." TK started.

"Two..." Ken crouched down.

"Three!" They both took of running, then slammed hard into the door. They failed to knock it down, but rebounded, and they both fell to the floor.

Yolei stood on the sidelines. She watched the two grown men fall to the floor, and shook her head. "Would you like me to try?"

Ken rolled his eyes. "Yolei, I think we have this under control." He studied the door. "I think we've loosened it up enough, TK. A couple more slams and we're in."

On the other side of the door, Kari was pacing back and forth, wringing her hands, only one thought running through her mind: _I could have been with Ken. And I would have lost TK. I could have been with Ken. And I would have lost TK._

All of the sudden, she heard a huge thud against the door. The guys were trying to break in. She moved herself to the corner the furthest away from the door, in case they actually did succeed.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" Once again, they slammed into the door. And once again, they were knocked down. 

Ken groaned. "One more try."

TK rubbed his shoulder. "You're on."

Yolei heaved a huge breath. And then let them have it. "You guys are morons!" she shouted. "Look, I know how to get in. Just...go to the living room and behave like good little boys, and I'll have this all taken care of by the time you get back."

TK scratched the back of his neck, and Ken looked at his shoes. "Yes, ma'am."

Ken and TK filed back to the living room. Yolei looked after them, and grinned. She turned, and knocked softly on the door.

"Kari? It's me, Yolei. Can I come in?"

Kari crept carefully to the door. "TK's not with you, is he?"

"No, it's just me. I think we need to talk."

"I...I don't know if I want to talk."

"You need to."

Kari sighed. She turned the lock, and opened the door carefully. Yolei entered, and Kari closed the door behind her, making sure it was locked. Yolei turned to the younger girl. "Kari..."

Kari broke down. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing. "I'm sorry, Miya, I'm so sorry!"

Yolei's eyes widened, and with great effort, she knelt down beside her friend. She wrapped her arms around her. "Why are you sorry, Hika? You did nothing."

"But...Ken..."

"Shhh." Yolei rocked her like a mother would rock a child. "It will turn out alright. You'll see."

"But...what about TK? How do I know if I really love him? Do I only love him because they forced me to? Or do I love him at my own free will? How do I know that I'm not really in love with Ken?"

Yolei flinched at this. "Trust me on this one, Kari," she said gently. "You love him."

"I'm a bad person."

_And the hormonal mood swings start now, _she thought bitterly. "You're not a bad person."

"Am, too."

"Are not."

"Am, too."

"Are not."

"Am, too."

"Am, too."

"Are not."

"Ha! I caught you!" Yolei teased. Kari let a grin as she broke the embrace.

"Thanks for being there, Miya."

"Anytime, Hika," she replied. "Do you want me to get TK now?"

Kari chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Actually, if you don't mind...do you think I could talk to Ken? Please?"

"Alright," Yolei said. Kari stood, then helped Yolei to her feet. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to kneel."

"I'll know in a few months. You're ahead of me, remember?"

Yolei brushed herself off. "I'll go get Ken."

"Alright. Thanks again."

"Anytime."

*~*

"Um, you're all really, really nice and all," I began, "but I can't help thinking that we've met before."

"That's because we have," Agumon said.

I turned to him. "We have?"

"Sure! The twelve of you, and the twelve of us! And your parents."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"All of us Digimon, you guys, and your parents."

"Who are 'you guys'?" I asked.

"You don't know?" Gabumon asked.

"Uh-uh," I said, shaking my head.

Gabumon took a deep breath. "Well, there's you, Tony, Brad, Chino, Mari, Lei, Kara, Flora, Tina, Marcus, and Sam."

My mouth dropped open. "No freakin way!"

"Um, well, yes," Gatomon said. "Before you guys, it was Tai, Sora, Matt, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, TK, Kari, Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken."

"Gah..." I was at lost for words.

But not Tony. He pressed on. "You said out parents. When exactly did this whole shindig take place?"

Gomamon squinted. "Let's see, it was about fifteen years ago...on your calender, it would be about June of 1987."

"Wait a minute. Were my parents there, too?" Tony asked.

"Tanishi, right? Yeah, they were there," Gomamon said.

"That can't be right!" Tony exclaimed. "My parents died in August of 1986. They couldn't have been there."

"They were there, alright," Palmon said. "I remember when Gennai introduced them as his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. You were really small back then."

"My parents were dead in 1987!"

I covered my ears with my hands. "La dee da dee da..."

Gatomon looked at me questioningly.

I removed my hands and grinned sheepishly.

"Gennai?" Tony continued. "Gennai, as in, Gennai Tanishi? My grandfather?"

"Uh, short little dude with a funny looking beard?" Veemon said.

"Yeah..."

"Yep, that's the one."

"Aaaggghhh! He lied to me!" Tony yelled. He spun around, flipping Patamon off his head.

"Whoa!" Patamon ricocheted up, bounced off the ceiling, then landed in my arms.

"You okay, little guy?" I asked gently, rocking him.

He smiled. "Uh-huh."

"Looks like someone has a crush on Angel!" Gatomon teased.

"I do not!" Patamon shouted. I laughed. I saw the distress in Tony's eyes, and my laughter turned to silence.

"I trusted him! I trusted him with everything and he lied to me!" 

Patamon flew out of my arms and, once again, sat atop my head. "Tony please...calm down..."

"How can I calm down, Angel? My parents didn't die two weeks after I was born. Hell, I don't even know WHEN they died. Or if they're even dead at all!"

I grabbed Tony's wrist and he flung my hand away. 

"Tony!" I yelled. "This isn't going to solve anything!"

"What do you know? You've never had to lose someone before!"

I glared at him. "I don't know what it's like to lose someone?" I asked coldly. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean what I say," he said, his voice flat.

The Digimon looked as though they were watching a tennis match, their heads going back and forth between the two of us.

"Oh really?" I retorted. "Well, my so-called best friend, have you forgotten about the little sister that died when I was five years old? Have you forgotten Adelae already?"

Gatomon's eyes grew wide. "Adelae's dead?" she whispered.

I turned to her, surprised. "How did you know about Adelae?"

She looked at the ground. "The last time we ever heard from the your parents, Kari was about to have a little girl she said she was going to name Adelae Elizabeth. I never heard from her again."

Well, I think Tony had flustered enough. He grew bright red. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're not the only one who's lost someone."

"Don't I know it," Gatomon muttered under her breath.

"Sorry," Tony whispered softly. I gave a small, forced smile, then hugged him, to let him know that I forgave him. 

"Hey, um, we know this might be a lot to ask, but...do you think we could come back to the real world with you? It's been a long time since we've seen your parents," Palmon said.

The real world. Oh, my God.

How were we ever going to get back?

*~*

TK and Ken sat next to each other on the couch.

"I can't believe this," TK said. "All this time, Kari and I were so much in love. We always believed that it was destiny that had brought us together. That we were, you know, meant to be. But all this time...we were living a lie."

"TK, can I ask you a question?" Ken asked.

"You just did."

"I mean, seriously, a real question."

"Sure, whatever."

"Do you love her?"

TK turned to Ken, surprised. "What kind of moronic question is that?"

"A serious one. Do you love her?"

"God, you've gotta be kidding me. Of course I do! I love her more than anything. I love her so much...I love her so much that every morning, I wait for her to wake up, just bursting with curiosity, wondering what her next words will be. I love the way she smells--like honey, only with a touch of cinnamon. And the way she looks when she's happy. And when she's in pain, but she's only doing what she's doing to endure the happiness of others."

"Like what she's doing for you right now. Carrying the child you wanted so much for ten years, no matter how painful it is for her."

"Yeah. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah."

Just then, Yolei walked into the room. TK stood immediately, and Ken followed his lead.

"How is she? Can I see her?" TK asked, worriedly.

"She's fine," Yolei replied. "She's doing a lot better than she was. And no, she doesn't want to see you yet. She asked if she could talk to Ken."

Ken nodded, and TK looked crestfallen. He followed Yolei back down the hall, and she led him to the door that Kari stood behind. She left him there, and Ken gave a light knock on the door.

"Kari? Are you there? It's me, it's...Ken."

Slowly, the door opened. Ken stepped inside. He saw Kari sitting on the bed, looking down at the floor. "Close the door," she said.

Ken shut the door, then walked over to her, and sat down next to her. The two were silent for a moment, then Kari spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry if I hurt anyone. And I'm sorry for anything else I might have done to cause you any pain."

"Kari...it's not your fault," Ken reassured. "No matter what Gennai says, or what anyone else says, you and TK are always going to be together. No one can break you up."

Kari smiled at the confidence that was in Ken's voice. "You're right," she agreed. "I love him. Not like anyone else. He's the only one."

"The only one," Ken repeated.

"And--no offense or anything, Ken--but, for some reason, I can't imagine loving you the same way I love TK. I can't imagine caring about you anymore than the way I do now!"

Ken was silent for a moment. He averted his eyes to the floor. "I can," he said softly.

Kari turned to him, surprised. Her voice dropped, and she barely whispered, "What?"

"Hika-chan, once upon a time, I was in love with you. I never told you, because, well...I was afraid of TK. Yes, that's right, the high and mighty Digimon Emperor afraid of a blonde kid in a bucket hat. But his love for you was stronger than any Digimon I could create. So I gave you up. Stayed away. Eventually got over you, and fell for someone else. But a person never loses it for their first love."

Kari just stared at him, unable to speak.

"Kari, please say something!" he said.

"I don't know what to say," she said flatly. "I am confused. Are you telling me that you're in love with me or that you used to be in love with me?"

"Used to be."

"Why are you telling me all of this now?" she asked. "Do you think it would have made any difference at all?"

"I-I don't know," he said. "I guess I just wanted you to know. And to tell you this. I know that maybe if I had gone with you and the others that first summer, we might have fallen in love. But I think that no matter what happened that summer, you and TK would have still had that special bond that no two people can have. Destiny might have been toyed with a little, but in my opinion, you and TK are still meant to be together."

"How do I know that?" Kari asked, on the verge of tears. "How do I know that I wouldn't have been happier with you? How do I know that we're not in love?"

Ken didn't answer her. Instead, he leaned forward, and kissed her square on the mouth. The kiss lasted for a few seconds, then they broke away.

"Did you feel anything at all?" Ken asked.

Kari shook her head, still surprised at what had happened.

"Well, then, there's nothing. Nothing more than friendship, that is." He smiled at Kari, and she submerged herself deep within her own thoughts.

_He's right. There really is nothing romantic between us at all. How could I have thought I could love anyone more than TK? It's unreal._

Kari smiled. She leaned over and gave Ken a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Ken," she said, "for helping me figure this out."

"That's what friends are for," he replied. "Do you want me to go get TK, now?"

Kari hesitated, unsure. Then she nodded.

"You're sure?"

She nodded again.

"Alright, then. I'll be right back."

As Ken left, Kari wrung her hands together. She was nervous.

But no one could have been no more nervous than TK.

*~*

"How are we going to get out of the Digital World?" I wailed. "We don't even know how we got in!"

"Didn't you use the Digivice?" Gatomon said.

Tony scratched his head. "What's a Digivice?"

"See that thingy on your belt loop?" Gabumon pointed.

I looked down, and sure enough, there was a small device hanging from the waistline on my pants. I unhooked it from the loop, and stared at it. It was a pink handheld, with a small black antenna sticking out from the top. 

Tony's was of the same design, but his was green. "What are these things?" he asked.

"They look like Gameboys," I commented.

"That's a Digivice. Or a D-3," Tentomon explained. "You use it to get in and out of the Digital World, and to make your Digimon Digivolve."

"Digivolve?"

"To change the appearance of your Digimon. Digivolving is mostly for becoming bigger and stronger, and to fight enemies or help others in need."

"I'm confused," Tony said.

Suddenly, there was a shout from the group of Digimon. "Could you take us with you?" Palmon asked. "It's been a long time since we've seen the other DigiDestined!"

"What's a DigiDestined?" Tony asked. He was still confused.

"We'll explain everything when we're back in the real world!" Gomamon shouted. "We're going home!"

The Digimon cheered.

"Not so fast, guys!" Gatomon shouted. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The shouts and cheers quieted, and they turned to her.

"A Digimon can only leave the Digital World if he or she is with their Chosen Partner!" she said. 

"Then only two of us can leave today," Gabumon said. "Which ones, though?"

"We scratched their names on the back of the Digivices," Agumon said. "So whoever's name is on the back of the Digivice, that partner's DigiDestined goes with whoever has that Digivice! It's simple enough."

"Turn yours over, Angel," Hawkmon said. "What does it say?"

I flipped the D-3 over in my hand. Indeed, someone had scratched out KARI on the back of it. 

Kari. My mother. She had been one of these...Digipeople. A DigiDestined. A Chosen Child. And she had never told me.

"It says 'Kari,'" I said.

Gatomon's grin seemed to break the boundaries of her face. "I used to belong with Kari!" she said happily. "That means I'm with you!"

I smiled. I was glad. I liked Gatomon a lot.

I looked over at Tony. "What does yours say, Tony?"

I knew already. I knew whose D-3 that was. I can't explain it. It was like someone had whispered it to me, but without a doubt, I knew who he belonged with.

Tony uttered those two letters that I was expecting to hear anyways. "'TK.'"

Immediately, Patamon flew off my head. "Tonytonytonytonytonytony!" he yelled happily. Tony grinned at Patamon and caught him. All traces of a bad mood seemed to have left his eyes.

TK. My father. He lied to me, too! I know I keep things from my mom, but I thought Dad and I had no secrets! 

I have always been a Daddy's girl. I tell him everything, and I thought he told me everything, too. He taught me everything I needed to know--stuff about sports, school, teachers to look out for, how to tolerate my mom...everything. How could he have lied to me for all of these years? How could they both have kept this from me?

And why now? Why, when I'm almost fifteen years old, do I suddenly find out about this otherworldly secret they've been keeping from me all my life? Why did I have that dream? Were those kids really my mom and dad? They had to be. Gatomon had been there, too.

Something was going on in this world. Something evil. Whatever it was, it held the key to unlock all of my family's secrets. I had to do something about it. There had to be a reason why I was called here. 

"Hey, look!" Biyomon said. "The rain stopped!"

I looked out the entrance to the cave. What had been a huge thunderstorm only moments before had turned into clear blue skies. 

"This means you can go back to the real world now," Gatomon said. "And Patamon and I can go with you!"

Patamon cheered. "We'll get to see TK again!"

"Oh, ho ho ho, no you won't!" I snapped. "We're not telling my parents about this! If they find out, then everything will go crazy, I'll get in trouble, and we'll never see you again!"

Patamon facefaulted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Patamon," I apologized. "I promise, I'll take you to my house so you can see my dad. But you have to promise that you won't talk to him! And he can't see you!"

"Okay," Patamon said. 

"Come on!" Veemon shouted. "We'll show you the way out."

Tony and I followed the Digimon out of the cave. We walked a little ways. The Digital World was beautiful. There was something about it that made it so much more detailed than our world, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Finally, we came to a place on the top of a small hill. There was a tiny box there, that looked almost like a portable TV. 

"What's this?" Tony asked.

"Your passport out of here," Armadillomon said. "Just hold up your Digivice to it and say "Digiport open"!"

I looked down at my little handheld. I glanced hesitantly at Tony, and he nodded. Bravely, I held the D-3 up to the box. "Digiport open!"

An awesome suction feeling came over me. Suddenly, I was zipping through a dimension where understanding did not exist. My landing was anything but graceful.

_Thud._

I had landed smack on top of Tony. I groaned, and rolled off of him. I sat up, and looked around. 

We were back in his living room. We were dressed in our school uniforms again. But I still held the D-3 in my right hand.

Tony sat up, and looked at me. "Was it all a dream?" he asked.

"I don't think so!"

We both turned around. Gatomon and Patamon were sitting on the top of the computer, grinning down at us. We both screamed at the top of our lungs.

========================================

Well, that sucked. Any questions, comments, or criticism? E-mail at jazzgirl1488@hotmail.com. 

Immuh chica.

Hope to have up part seven soon!


	7. According to Angel: Goddamn Bottlecaps

**According to Angel: Part Seven**

***Reality Check***

Gennai explains to them about how he changed the course of destiny in order to keep the Digital World from going completely chaotic. Kari breaks down after learning that she might have ended up with Ken. Ken and Yolei confort her, and now she must face her own husband. Angel and Tony make it back to the real world, accompanied by Patamon and Gatomon.

  
  


***Present Day***

TK knocked on the door softly.

"Come in," Kari called.

TK slowly opened the door. He was nervous. He didn't know what had happened with Ken, and what she would do about it.

He sat down next to her. They were silent for a moment, then suddenly, TK laughed. "I haven't been this awkward around you since we were teenagers."

"It shouldn't be this way," Kari said softly. 

"What do you mean?"

"We should never have to feel awkward around each other! It's wrong; don't you see? You're my husband. I should be able to be at ease with you. I love you. It shouldn't be so hard."

TK nodded. "I agree."

"And secondly, I don't care how the outcome of our lives might have been if I'd married someone else. Because I married you. You're all that I want. And all that I need," she said.

"I'm sorry this had to happen," he said softly. His hand reached up to stroke her cheek, and she clasped it tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

*~*

Needless to say, we screamed our heads off. It's not every day you see a bunny cat and a batpig sitting on top of your friend's computer.

After a few minutes, when we realized how moronic we were being, we stopped. "Talk about enormous lung capacity," Gatomon grumbled. She hopped down off of the computer, and Patamon followed her lead. 

"Whose house is this?" he asked.

"Mine," Tony said. He stood, and brushed himself off, then offered a hand for me. I took it gratefully, and stood. 

"Where's your house, Angel?" Gatomon asked.

"About three doors down," I replied.

"Let's go there, then!" she said excitedly. "I can't wait to see your parents again!"

"Not so fast, girlfriend," I said. "I can't have them see you! Otherwise, I'd get in major trouble."

"I understand," she sighed. "Can we at least watch them from a hiding place or something?"

"Sure, as long as they don't find you." I rubbed the back of my neck where it had landed on Tony's knee. "Let's go back to my apartment. We can stay there until Mom and Dad get home."

"Alright," Tony said. "We'd better hide these guys, in case the neighbors see us."

"Right." We hid the two of them in a duffel bag, then slipped out the front door. We tiptoed down the hallway until we got to my front door. I reached into my pocket, and rummaged around for a key.

"I hate skirt pockets," I grumbled. I finally found my key, at long last, then opened the door.

"Hello?" I called softly. There was no answer.

"They're not back yet," I said. "Shut the door, lock it, then close the blinds." 

Tony quickly turned the lock on the door, and I shut all of the blinds in the front living room. He unzipped the duffel bag, and Gatomon and Patamon hopped out, sweating like mad.

"Why is your duffel bag insulated, pray tell?" Gatomon asked, panting.

"For winter. It keeps my basketball uniform warm in the cold locker room."

"Ahhh..." Gatomon nodded, not completely understanding.

"I'm hungry," Patamon said. "Is their anything to eat?"

"Uh, well, ah..." I was hoping food wouldn't be a problem with these two, but it was obvious that it would be. "I don't know what we have."

"Anything is okay." He flapped over to the refridgerator and attempted to open the door. Attempted, but failed. "It's stuck!"

"Here," Tony said. He walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. "Let's see...do you guys like watermelon?"

"Yeah!" Tony cut the watermelon into slices, then put out two plates. We had already eaten, so we weren't hungry.

Obviously, these two were. They wolfed it down within seconds. "Mmm!" Patamon said, licking his lips. "That was delicious!"

"I haven't had a meal that good since before the Emperor came to power!" Gatomon joked, but the joke was lost on me.

I sat down next to her. "What Emperor?" I asked, curious.

Gatomon's eyes darkened. "The Emperor," she said angrily, "is some Digimon that came to power in the Digital World only recently. No one, except his closest advisors, has ever seen him. Awhile ago, he seemed like a pretty good guy. But then his reign of terror began.

"He began enslaving Digimon, using the old technics of the Black Gears and Dark Rings and Spirals to turn them evil. Anyone who spoke out against him was either put in captivity or ran away. Naturally, being the Chosen Digimon, we felt obligated to fight him. Needless to say, we lost in the end.

"We managed to escape his wrath a few months ago, and have been hiding out in that cave ever since. Until you came along, that is. If we can get all of the new Chosen Children to the Digital World, then we can bring all of the Chosen Digimon back here, and devise a plan to defeat him, and restore the peace there once again."

"But are the other Children really just our friends from school?" I asked, puzzled. "Kara, Brad, Chino, Lei, and the others?"

"Yes," Patamon said, his mouth full.

"But how can we fight him?" Tony asked. "We're only kids, after all. And pretty lazy ones at that. I'd just like to see Flora try and handle a gun."

"You don't fight in the Digital World using guns and knives and other weapons," Patamon explained. "You fight using us."

"You?" I said, resisting the urge to laugh. "But you're so small! How can you handle someone as high and mighty as this Emperor dude?"

"We may be small," Patamon said, "but we're strong! Go get something you don't mind having destroyed, and we'll show you."

"Alright," I said, uncertainly. I went back into my room and brought out a huge cardboard box of bottle caps that I had collected when I was seven. The box came up to my waist.

I set it out in the middle of the living room. "What are you going to do with it?" I asked nervously.

"Just watch," Patamon said, grinning. He took a deep breath. "Boom Bubble, pop!"

A huge bubble flew out of his mouth, and slammed right into the cardboard box. The box was ripped into pieces, and bottlecaps flew everywhere. I held my hands up to my face protectively. Gatomon dove under the couch, and Tony ducked behind a chair. 

The bottlecaps finally settled. I moved my hands, and looked at the box. It had been torn to shreds, and bottlecaps were everywhere. I glared at Patamon.

He grinned sheepishly. "Oops," he sqeaked.

"Oops is right! My parents will be home any minute! How am I gonna get this cleaned up in time?"

*~*

TK closed the door and tiptoed down the hall to the living room. Sora and Matt were back, and the four of them sat on the couch together.

"Is she--" Sora started.

"Shh. She's fine. She's sleeping now," TK whispered. "She's out cold. I don't think we're gonna make it home tonight. Do you think we could stay here, Matt?"

"Anything for family," Matt replied, grinning. "Were you guys able to work it out?"

"Yeah. It was truly--an experience."

"You two can stay here if Kara and Chino can with Angel tonight. I don't want them in the apartment in case the two of you decide to get--physical. I don't particularly want to be here either, but the landlord said..."

"It's alright, they can stay with her," TK interrupted smoothly. "Let me just call Angel and fill her in with the details. Then you can talk to Kara and Chino."

"Phone's in the kitchen."

TK walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. He dialed the number for their apartment, and Angel picked up the phone. Her voice was somewhat panicky. "Hello?"

"Angel? It's Dad. Is everything all right over there?"

"Oh, everything is just...dandy over here."

"Well, that's good to know. Anyways, I'm calling to tell you that your mother got very tired this afternoon, and she and I will be staying at your aunt and uncle's apartment tonight. Kara and Chino are going to stay at our apartment with you tonight, and keep you company. Do you three think you can handle being there alone?"

"I'm sure will be fine Dad," Angel said, relieved. "Ow! Watch it!"

"Angel, are you sure you're alright?"

"Everything's fine," she said, irritated. "Thanks for giving me a heads up."

"Anytime. Kara and Chino should be over there in an hour. You mom and I will be back by noon tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll see you then. 'Night, Dad."

"'Night, Angel." He placed the phone on the receiver. I'm sure they'll be fine, he thought. Angel, Kara, and Chino are responsible children. What could go wrong?

*~*

Angel sighed with relief as she hung up the phone, and another bottlecap seemed to fly out of nowhere and hit her on the back of the head. She ignored it. "My parents aren't coming home tonight, thank God. They won't be back until tomorrow. Kara and Chino are coming over, though, and they're gonna spend the night."

No one seemed to have heard me. Patamon was inspecting the damage he had done, Gatomon had out a photo album of Mom and Dad, and Tony was fishing bottlecaps out of his pockets.

"Huh? Oh, well, that's good," Tony said, distracted by the task at hand. 

Gatomon shut the photo album. "We can also explain to Kara and Chino about the Digital World. That way, we'll already have four people who understand it when we explain it to the others."

Tony gazed around the room. "Patamon, I can't believe that such a little guy could cause such a huge mess."

"That's only the beginning," Patamon said proudly. "When I Digivolve, I could destroy this entire building if I wanted to! Of course, I probably wouldn't since I'm a good Digimon and all."

"I still don't understand about all this..Digivolving," Tony said.

"Well, see," Gatomon began, "when someone or something is in trouble, a Digimon can change it's shape in order to save it. When they change, they usually become bigger and stronger. With a Chosen Digimon, the human has to have a Digivice, or a D-3, somewhere nearby. And the human has to have the Crests in order for the Digimon to Digivolve to the Ultimate level."

"Level?"

"There is a minimum of four levels for every Digimon: In-training, Rookie, Champion, and Ultimate. Right now, I'm in my Champion stage, and Patamon is at Rookie. There are other levels, such as Armor, Mega, DNA Digivolving, Fighter Mode, and so on."

"Do stay the same when you change shape?" Tony asked. "I mean, are still Gatomon, but just...bigger?"

"Nope," Gatomon said, smiling. "I turn into Angewomon in my Ultimate level. Patamon is Angemon at Champion, and Magnaangemon at Ultimate. He is Tokomon when he is In-training, and when I'm In-traning and Rookie, I'm Nyaroumon and Salamon."

"It's all so confusing," I said, shaking my head.

"You get used to it pretty quickly," Patamon said.

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I bet that's Kara and Chino," Tony said, getting up.

"Hide, you guys!" I hissed. "You don't want to freak them out just yet!"

They dove under the couch. Tony looked through the peephole, then opened the door.

Kara bounced in, and Chino followed. "Hey, guys, what's--whoa! What happened here?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "I guess we do have some explaining to do."

"First of all, you guys have to promise not to freak out too much," I said.

"Uh, okay," Chino said, standing behind Kara.

"Come on out, guys," I said. "It's okay."

Slowly, Patamon and Gatomon climbed out from under the couch. Kara and Chino's eyes widened.

"What the heck....?" Kara trailed off.

"Son of a bitch, Tony, I didn't know you two still played with stuffed animals!" Chino said.

"They're real, Chino," I said softly. "They're called Digimon. And they're as real as you and I."

*~*

TK typed furiously at his laptop. I can't believe I forgot about this stupid article, he thought bitterly. He heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

Matt opened the door slowly. "Hey," he whispered, as not to wake Kari. "What are you working on?"

"This stupid article I forgot," TK grumbled. "The deadline's at midnight."

"So are you coming to the concert or not?"

"Depends on whether I get this in on time. I'll probably bring Angel, but I don't know if Kari will be up to it."

"What do you not think I'm up to?" Kari asked, sleepily. She stretched.

"I thought you were asleep," TK said.

"I was. I just now woke up," she said. "What am I not up to?"

"Matt's concert tomorrow," he replied.

"I'll go," she said. "If I get eight hours of sleep, I'll go."

"Great!" Matt said. "Good night, you two."

"'Night," Kari and TK said at the same time.

"So," Kari said after Matt had left the room, "where is everybody?"

"We're staying here tonight," he replied. "You were fast asleep, and I didn't want to have to wake you up so you would have to drive all the way home."

"What about Angel?"

"She's fine. Kara and Chino are staying with her tonight. I called her just a little while ago. Matt didn't want them in the house in case we, um, decided to, um, get....physical."

Kari smiled. 

*~*

"Oh, my, kami-sama," Kara said. "You mean to tell me that there's an entirely different world next to ours, that has special little creatures called Digimon that change shape and fight evil?"

"Uh, yeah, that's about it," Tony said.

Kara and Chino exchanged a glance. "No offense or anything, guys," Chino said slowly, "but you two are nuts." They bolted for the door. Gatomon got there faster, and stood in front of it. The two of them backed away.

"Not so fast, guys," she said. "You're a part of this, too."

"What do you mean? I don't want anything to do with this," Kara said, panicky.

"You two are DigiDestined, just like us!" I said. "I'm not too sure what that is yet, but I know it's something that we are obligated to. We have to help them!"

"Come on, guys, we can prove it to you!" Tony chimed in. "Just follow me back to my apartment, and we'll show you."

Kara and Chino looked uncertain. "Do you think we should?" she whispered to her brother.

"I don't know. They've never lied to us before. And how can you explain that flying pig and the rabbit?" 

"I guess we can trust them." They turned back to us. "Prove it."

Tony led us out of my apartment and over to his. He switched the computer on. Automatically, the Digimon Game popped up. He opened it, and the portal came up again. 

I took a deep breath. "You do it this time," I told him nervously.

He nodded, just as nervous. He held his Digivice up to the monitor screen, face forward. "Digiport open!"

Zoom. The six of us were suddenly flying through the gateway that would lead us to another world.

Thud.

I sat up and groaned. "We really need to work on our landings," I grumbled.

Kara and Chino sat up and looked around. Kara's eyes early popped out of her head. "Whoa."

"It's...amazing," Chino said, awed. "Where are we?"

"The Digital World," I said, gazing around. I was still trying to get used to things myself.

Our clothes had changed again. I was back in my denim outfit, and Tony was back into the one he was wearing before. Kara had on denim flares, and a red sleeveless turtleneck. Chino had on baggy Levi's and a blue teeshirt that said "Instant Human: Just Add Coffee."

I pointed and laughed. "Nice shirt."

He looked down, then back up at me and grinned. The wind blew around his chestnut hair, and he looked off into the distance.

"I guess you guys were right," he said guiltily.

"It's okay, you had every right to doubt us," Tony said, slapping him on the back. He smiled, and Chino smiled back.

"So come on!" Gatomon said. "Let's go get the others!"

I strapped my Digivice back onto my beltloop, and broke into a run after her. The others followed me, and before long, we had reached the cave.

"In here," Gatomon said, and we followed her. Before long, we came to the huddled mass of Digimon. 

"They're back!" Palmon said, standing up. The others followed her lead, and they crowded around us. Kara and Chino shrank back.

"Don't be afraid," Biyomon said, smiling. She walked up to Kara, and took her hand in her wing. Kara smiled, and looked a little less nervous. "What's your name?"

"I, uh, ah, um...My name is Kara!" she blurted out.

"I'm Biyomon," Biyomon replied. "I haven't seen you since you were a baby."

Kara freaked a little at this, and I put a hand on her shoulder. "We met a long time ago, we just don't remember," I said softly. 

Kara was shaking. "I wish I did."

Chino was looking Gabumon up and down. He didn't look the least bit frightned. It almost seemed as though this was...normal. "You look awfully familiar," he commented.

"I should. You might not remember, but we've met before!" Gabumon said, smiling.

"I think I do. Your name is Gabumon, right?" I was a little shocked that Chino could remember that far back, but then again, he was older than the rest of us. But only by a year...it was still amazing, nontheless.

"That's right."

"I remember you, for some reason...I don't think it was here, though...we were somewhere else."

"Do you remember anything else?" I asked.

"Don't think so, cuz...wait! Something about a boat...and a horse...and an...angel? That can't be right," he mused. 

Angel. Angewomon.

Huh? Where had that thought come from? It was spooky. I shook it away. Suddenly the image of a horse--well, a half horse, half...human, I think--stood fresh in my mind.

"I remember something about a horse, too," I said softly. "Only it wasn't an entire horse. It was half horse, half human."

Tony stood from his squatting position. "I remember now, too," he chimed in. "And for some reason--I recall the angel. I don't remember anything but the angel. But, when I saw her...she made me cry. I don't remember why, but she did. She was beautiful. "

"I remember something else!" Kara said. "I remember, we were on the boat, and something came out of the water and attacked us...I think. I don't remember anything after that."

This was all so strange. We were able to remember things that had happened nearly fifteen years ago. Isn't that kind of...impossible? Oh, well. This whole day has been impossible. 

"Whose going to go back with Kara and Chino?" Gomamon asked, breaking my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, well, I guess, we'll have to do the same thing we did before...you know, check their Digivices," I said.

"Our whats?" Chino said, bewildered. 

"That thingy on your waist," Agumon pointed.

The looked down. They too had the little Digivices hooked onto their beltloops. Only, theirs was a different model. It was square, and smaller than mine and Tony's. Kara's was red, and Chino's was blue.

"There's a name scratched on the back of it," Tentomon instructed. "What does it say?" 

Chino flipped his over. "Matt," he said. "Hey, that's my dad's name! Does that mean..."

"That means you're with me!" Gabumon said, smiling. Chino gave a half smile, but I could see he was still confused.

"What does yours say, Kara?"

She flipped it over. As expected, someone had scratched SORA out on it with something sharp. "It says Sora. That's my mom," she said. "Why..."

"You're with me, then!" Biyomon squaked happily. Kara gave her a big grin.

Tony looked at his watch. "We'd better go," he said. "My grandpa will be home soon, and if I'm not there when he gets home, I'm in trouble."

Agumon looked sad. "Well, you better come back soon!" he said. "With the others."

I smiled at him, hoping to cheer him up. "We will, I promise. Either tomorrow or the day after."

"Alright, I guess. Bye!"

  
"Bye!" we shouted, heading to the entrance of the cave.

Suddenly, we heard a low rumble. It began getting louder, and louder.

"Rockslide!" Gatomon shouted. "Everybody get out of the cave!"

Heavy rocks and boulders started falling from the sides of the cave. We ran towards the opening, and the eight of us made it before we were crushed. I turned back to look at the cave. The entrance was totally blocked in.

"Oh, no!" I screamed. "They're trapped!"

*~*

Ah...I'm really getting good at this cliffhanger stuff. ^_~ Email at jazzgirl1488@hotmail.com. Chapter Eight coming up soon!


	8. According to Angel: A Misunderstanding

According to Angel: Chapter Eight

***Reality Check***

Kari and TK manage to work things out. Chino and Kara, accompanied by Angel and Tony, go to the Digital World to bring two more Digimon back to theirs, but an unexpected rockslide traps the others inside the cave.

***Present Day***

On the other side of Odaiba, Lei was sitting in her living room, watching TV. The housekeeper, Jeanine, had left hours before, and her father still had not returned yet.

She sank back into the couch and side. She sighed, content with happiness at the thought of Sam. _I can't believe he kissed me yesterday. I can't believe it. Why me? I have to admit, I'm not really in protest against it. And believe me, he _is_ a cutie. _

Suddenly, the lock on the front door clicked. Lei ran her fingers through her long brown hair, and watched the door slowly opened. Cody stepped into the room.

"You didn't have to wait up for me," he said, setting his breifcase down next to the door. 

Lei looked at her watch. "It's only 9:30," she said. "Where have you been, anyways?"

"Out...with some friends," he said.

That surprised Lei. "Friends?!?"

"Yeah...I have friends, just like you," he said, a small smile playing on the edges of his lips. Then he yawned. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm dead tired. I'm gonna hit the sack. Don't stay up too late." To himself, Cody thought, _I hope TK and Kari managed to work things out._

He headed back to his bedroom. Lei followed him with her eyes, then turned back to the TV. For several minutes, she just stared at the empty black box, thinking. _Poor Daddy. He's always been so lonely. I wonder if he was like this when Mom was alive? I wish she was still here._

Lei decided to go check on her father. She got up quietly, and tiptoed down the hall to his room. She pushed the door open, and silently crept inside.

Cody was already asleep. He was laying flat on his back, his arms at his side, his eyes closed, and the light still on.

_How boring,_ Lei thought. _No wonder he's so stiff all the time--it's because of his sleeping position._

She walked over to his bed. She watched him for several minutes, and he didn't even move. _He's like a corpse!_

Lei made her way over to the other side of the bed. _If he never moves in his sleep, I bet he never rolls over to this side. I bet--I bet no one has slept on the other side of the bed since Mom._

At this thought, Lei reached down and touched the pillow. She shut her eyes, and suddenly, the images of a forgotten past echoed fresh in her mind.

_An angel flashed in front of her face._ Lei opened her eyes with a start, then realized where she was. She shut her eyes again.

_A small baby rested in the arms of a woman. The woman was smiling, and the baby heard a sound next to her, and looked up. There was a man standing next to the woman, and he too was smiling. The woman handed the baby to the man, and suddenly the boat started to shake. Shouts and screams were heard across the boat. The baby began to cry. _

_Suddenly, the man and the baby were on the shore of a lake. The man was shouting into the water, screaming over and over again, "Caitlin! Caitlin!"_

_The boat was sinking, and there was someone that was still on it._

*~*

I threw myself into the pile of rocks, and began heaving them out one by one. "Agumon! Palmon! Hawkmon! Veemon! Don't worry guys, we're gonna get you out of there!"

I grabbed hold of a heavy boulder, then looked back at the other seven. "Why aren't you helping me?"

Gatomon walked up to me. "There are easier ways of getting this done," she said.

I pulled another rock away. "Oh, yeah?" I grunted. "And what would that be?"

"What do you think you have that Digivice for?" she asked, pointing to the device hanging from my beltloop.

I stopped heaving away the rocks. "What am I supposed to do with this thing?"

"Take it in your hand," she instructed, "close your eyes, and concentrate. Clear your mind."

I pulled the Digivice off of my beltloop. I held it flat in my hand, and stared at it. "Concentrate on what?"

"Just--do what I tell you!"

I obeyed. I closed my fist around the Digivice, and shut my eyes. I tried to clear my mind, but I've never been totally sure how you do that. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew around us, and I heard some kind of music playing. I opened my eyes in time to see the impossible. 

"Gatomon, Digivolve to..."

Gatomon began to change shape! She quickly became taller, she grew hair, and was suddenly wearing clothes. Well, she wasn't wearing much clothing, but it was more than before. ~_~

"...Angewomon!"

_Angewomon._ The angel I had seen in my dreams! She was here! She was real! I knew it!

Angewomon floated a few inches off the ground. Her voice was much deeper than it was before. "Your turn, Patamon," she told the little batpig.

"Right!" He turned to Tony. "Just do the same thing Angel did."

Tony nodded. He pulled the Digivice off his beltloop and held it out in the palm of his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut, and closed his fist around the D3. He appeared to be concentrating.

We waited. Nothing happened.

"You're not trying hard enough!" Patamon said.

"Well, excuse me if I'm not a natural at this," Tony grumbled. He inhaled deeply, then seemed to concentrate on something deeper within.

This time, we got a reaction.

"Patamon, Digivolve to...."

Like Gatomon, Patamon grew much taller. Wings seemed to sprout from his back. A helmet was placed over his eyes, and he grew long golden hair.

"...Angemon!"

Ironic, isn't it?

Kara and Chino followed suit.

"Biyomon, Digivolve to...Birdramon!"

"Gabumon, Digivolve to...Garurumon!"

Birdramon was a rather large red bird with an overbite. Garurumon was a wolf that was about three times the size of a horse. 

"Don't worry, guys!" Garurumon called. His voice was much deeper than before. "We're on our way!"

Angewomon, Angemon, and Birdramon flew high into the air, and Garurumon began racing towards the rockpile. He jumped into the air, as if he were about to pounce. He was headed straight for the rockpile!

"Look out, Garurumon!" Chino yelled.

"Blue Blaster!" he yelled, not seeming to hear Chino. A spiral blue blast of what seemed to be ice was forced out of his mouth and hit the pile of rocks. Garurumon leapt away from the pile in time, and landed on his feet.

My mouth dropped open.

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon squawked. She flapped her wings, and a ball of fire emerged from them, slamming into the pile of rocks. It cleared some more of the stones away, but there was still plenty of them left.

"Move out of the way, Agumon, we're gonna give it our all!" Angemon shouted. He made a circle in the air with his arm, and a golden circle outlined it. "Combine your powers!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Meteor Wing!"

Angewomon drew an arrow that seemed to come from nowhere. She aimed it towards the golden circle. "Celestial Arrow!" she cried, and the arrow sprang from her bow, and entered to circle.

Angemon pulled his arm back, which was clenched into a fist. "Hand of Fate!" He punched into the air. The punch let out a silver light, and it, too, entered the circle of light.

The circle hovered there, full of power. And the Digimon stood/hovered there, waiting patiently.

"Aren't you gonna do something?" I yelled at them.

"This is your part!" Angewomon said. "You have the Digivices. You make the power--not us."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Tony yelled.

"Use your heart, Anthony!" Angemon said. "This is your destiny! Deep down inside, you know what is right."

"Oh, great," Chino grumbled. 

"There has to be a way we can figure this out!" I said. I looked down at my Digivice. It glowed a bright pink in my hand, and started beating. It took me a minute to realize that it wasn't the Digivice that was beating, though. It was my heart.

I furrowed my brow. I knew what I had to do. I held the Digivice up to the sky. The pink light shot out from it, into the golden circle. 

Tony stared at it for a minute, then he held his up, too. A beam of green light shot out from his Digivice, and entered the circle.

Kara held hers out, followed by Chino's. Red and blue light filled the sky. They circle spun around until it became a golden sphere. It sped towards the cave opening, and slammed right into the huge pile of rocks.

I continued to hold my Digivice upwards, and used my free hand to cover my eyes. I backed up, and peeked over my arm when the sound from the explosion had calmed. 

From the cave opening, I could see thousands of rocks, scattered to the side. There was a huge dust cloud at the entrance. 

I lowered the arm holding the Digivice. "You don't see that every day," I commented.

Suddenly, something emerged from the dust cloud. I squinted my eyes to see who it was.

Armadillomon! And Veemon, and Palmon, and all the others!

I ran forward to them. "You're all okay!" I shouted happily. Kara, Chino, and Tony ran after me. 

Angemon, Angewomon, Birdramon, and Garurumon seemed to glow the faint color of our Digivices. The light that had emerged from our Digivices before was swept back in, and they almost seemed to shrink. Four smaller Digimon appeared. They looked similar to the ones from before, but they were still different.

The first one looked like an orange ball with a horn on its head. "Hi! I'm Tsunomon, the in-training form of Gabumon!"

The second one was a pink ball with a little flower lookin' thing on it's head. "I'm Yokomon, the in-training form of Biyomon!"

The third had legs--little stub ones. He was white, and had very ferocious looking teeth. "I'm Tokomon, the in-training form of Patamon!" he said.

The last one would have actually looked somewhat normal if I didn't know what it was. "Hi!" she said. "I'm Salamon, the rookie form of Gatomon!"

I looked up to the sky, as if it could provide me with an answer to all of the questions I had inside. Kara shut her eyes, and her knees buckled underneath her. She wobbled a bit, then fell backwards. 

"Catch her!" I yelled. Tony rushed up behind her and hooked his arms into hers as she fainted. He set her down slowly on the ground. Chino and I rushed up next to her.

"No wonder she fainted," Chino said. "This is a tad bit overwhelming for her."

"What about you? Doesn't this have any affect on you at all?" Tony asked.

"Not as much as her," he replied. "Kara's been through alot, and most of the time, doesn't know how to handle it by herself. But thank God for friends, right?"

It was true. My cousins had been through a lot. Uncle Matt and Aunt Sora had gotten divorced twice, only to remarry each other a third time. Plus, about a year and a half ago, Kara fell off the bridge at Heightenview Terrace, and had suffered a major head injury. I sympathized with Kara.

"How are we gonna get her back to the real world?" Chino asked suddenly.

I hadn't even thought about that. "She probably needs to wake up first."

"Well, duh."

*~*

Mari hung up the phone, deep in thought. "Hmm," she mused, playing with her necklace. It was a golden chain, with the Japanese symbol for faith on it. 

Sam entered the room. "What's up?" he asked.

"I just called Angel. No one answered."

"Mari, it's Friday night," Sam replied. "Does Angel strike you as the kind who would stay in?"

"Well, I guess you're right. But still, it seems kind of odd. Wouldn't one of her parents be home?"

"Look, Mari, if this is bothering you that much, we'll go over there right now," he said, exasperatedly. He grabbed his coat off the hook, and pulled Mari out the front door.

The took the train down to the east side of Odaiba, where Angel lived. They walked for about ten minutes from the station until they came to her apartment building.

"She lives on the eighth floor, right?" Sam asked, shivering. Mari nodded, and wrapped her arms around her for warmth. They walked into the lobby, greeted the doorman, then took the elevator to the eighth floor. They walked down the hall to her apartment, then knocked on the door.

There was no answer. Mari looked at her watch. "It's nearly ten o'clock!" she exclaimed. "Where are they?"

"Hey, look at that!" Sam said, pointing. "Tony's front door is open! Maybe they're all in there."

Mari grabbed his arm. "What if there's a theif in there?"

Sam paled. He inhaled deeply, and his chest swelled. "Then they'll just have to face me!" he said bravely, marching to the door.

Mari stood in her place for a minute, and rolled her eyes. She followed him as he pushed open the door of the Tanishi apartment.

Nobody seemed to be home there, either. All the lights were on. Everything seemed to be in place. Mari sighed with relief.

"The computer's on," Sam commented. "That's about the only strange thing I can find."

They walked over to the computer. The screensaver had come up. Sam pressed ENTER on the keyboard. A swirling image showed up. 

"Whoa," he said, awed. He reached up to the screen to touch it.

Mari grabbed his arm. "Don't touch it!" she said.

"Why? It's only a computer screen."

"I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all," she said.

"Whatever. You have bad feelings about everything." Sam reached out his hand even further. Mari tightened her grip.

"I'm serious, Sam!"

"Mari, let go of me!" He yanked his hand away from her, and placed his palm out flat on the screen. Automatically, he began to feel a suction on his hand.

"Ahhhh!" he yelled.

Mari screamed. She grabbed onto his arm and pulled with all her might.

For awhile, they stood there, groaning and pulling, trying to get Sam's arm out of the computer. The vortex was strong enough to pull any number of people into it, but more than one person fighting against it was too much. It spit Sam out, and the twins went flying backwards across the living room, knocking over some furniture and a trashcan in the process.

When they came to, they glanced at each other for a millisecond, then screamed their heads off. They got up, then ran out of the apartment, screaming, and didn't stop until they reached the train station.

When they got there, they bent over, placing their hands on their knees, breathing deeply. Mari reached up to her neck, and gasped when she realized it was bare.

"My necklace!" she cried. "It's gone! It must have come off when we were at Tony's apartment!"

"Forget it, sis. I'm not going back to that apartment."

"Sam, Daddy gave that to me on my fourth birthday! I've had it for over a decade!"

"I'm sure Tony will find it and return it to you. But I'm not going back there."

"Ooh, I hate you, Osamu!"

*~*

I grabbed my unconcious cousin by the shoulders and shook her vigorously. "Wake up! Wake up, Kara, we gotta go home!"

Her eyes fluttered open. She yawned. "Was it all a dream?" she mumbled.

"Nope."

She sighed. "Didn't think so."

Kara pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around. "Where's Biyomon?"

"Right here!" the pink bird chirped. Biyomon flapped up to her side. Kara smiled.

Tony checked his watch anxiously. "We better be getting back," he said nervously. "My grandfather will be getting home soon."

"And I had better get cracking on cleaning up all of those stupid bottlecaps," I sighed. I looked at Patamon with a scowl.

"Meep!" he sqeaked. He hid behind Tony.

"How do we get out of here anyways?" Chino wondered.

"Follow us," Tony replied, picking up Patamon. He led the way to the tiny little TV. Tony gestured at me. "You wanna do the honors?"

"Sure," I said. I pulled my Digivice and held it up to the monitor. "Digiport, open!" I yelled. 

We went flying back through that barrier between reality and...well, abnormal reality. 

*~*

Brad tapped his thumbs on the table, his eyes darting back and forth across his hand of cards. He looked to his left. His father, Tai, the master of cards, was looking pretty sly. Brad averted his eyes back to the right. His mother, Teresa, was struggling to put together a good hand. She had never been very good at poker. 

Tai looked over at her. "You go first, 'Resa," he said, giving a small grin. 

She squinted at him in mock anger. She layed down her cards. "Two pair," she said, laying down a pair of eights, a pair of jacks, and a queen. 

Tai tried his hardest not to smile. He laid his cards down on the table. "Full house."

Brad rolled his eyes. Yet again, his father had won at poker. "I fold."

Teresa tried to hide her grin from Tai, who was leaning back in her chair, laughing. When he wasn't looking, she threw a chip from their board game casino at his head.

He stopped laughing. "Hey!" he said. He picked up a chip and threw it at her.

"Okay, that's it!" she said. Teresa took a handful of chips in both hands. She threw one at Tai, and one at Brad.

"When did I get involved in this?" he shouted. He stood, and soon all three of them were throwing chips back and forth at each other, laughing.

Tai grabbed Teresa around the waist and began to tickle her. She giggled loudly, and screamed, "Uncle! Uncle!"

Brad watched them, laughing. There were chips all over the living room. Furniture had been turned over, and his hair was a mess. He shook his teeshirt, and chips came flying out the bottom. 

Tai dropped Teresa on the couch. Her long brown hair was a mess, and her clothes were wrinkled, but she was laughing. She looked beautiful when she laughed.

Teresa was an American immigrant from Spain. She had met Tai when he was working over there on business. They had fallen in love, and he brought her back with him to Japan, where they married later. So Brad grew up speaking Japanese, American, and Spanish. Many people believed that the marriage wouldn't work for several reasons. First of all, there was an six year difference between them. Tai was thirty-eight, Teresa was thirty-two. She was younger than Kari!

Another reason why they didn't think it would work was because the first child they'd tried to have together was a stillborn. Most couples might have given up after that, but they did. And their result was Brad. 

The last reason why no one wanted them to be together was their families. They hated each other with a passion. Teresa's mother did not trust Tai, and Tai's parents didn't want him running off with "Spanish trash." Kari and Tai helped convince them, however, that Teresa was a wonderful person. Teresa's mother took more convincing, though. She refused to accept that her daughter was "turning Japanese," and didn't learn to speak Japanese. She wouldn't come near Tai for the first eight years of their marriage. Finally, Teresa got fed up with her and made her move to Odaiba. Now, she speaks Japanese--not very well, mind you--lives with the Kamiyas, and is on better terms with Tai's family. 

Brad heard a yell come from his grandmother's room. "¡Ustedes maldice hooligans! ¿Es jamás ustedes callados? ¡Era más fuerte que estaba en su dormitorio la otra noche! "

[Translation: "You damn hooligans! Do you ever be quiet? It was louder than it was in your bedroom the other night!"]

Tai laughed, then silenced Teresa. He called back, "¡Arrepentido, Madre Montoya!"

[Translation: "Sorry, Mother Montoya!"]

Teresa blushed. 

Suddenly, the phone rang. Brad picked it up. "¿Diga?"

There was no one on the other line. Brad stared at it quizzically, then put it back on the reciever. 

"Who was that?" Teresa asked, picking up chips off the floor.

"Dead air," Brad responded.

"Check the caller ID," Tai suggested.

Brad leaned over the phone. On the caller ID panel, the name TAKAISHI was flashing, along with a number beneath it.

"It was someone at Aunt Kari's house," Brad replied. "But when I picked up the phone, there was dead air."

"Maybe they'll try to call back," Teresa said. "In the meantime, come help me get dinner ready. What would you like?"

"Fajitas!" Tai and Brad called out at the same time. They slapped a high five.

Teresa sighed, and grinned. "Every single night!" she laughed. "You guys just can't get enough out of Mama's Spanish cooking, can you? I don't know if she's even going to want to cook tonight."

"Wel, you know what they say," Tai said, wrapping his arm around her and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Like mother, like daughter."

Teresa laughed. "¡Una fajita fiesta, en un momenta!"

Brad began helping his mother prepare the dinner. After a few minutes, the phone rang again. He snatched it up. "Hello? Hello, is anyone there?"

"Tai?" said a person on the other end said. It sounded like a gruff old man, but the caller ID number read the Takaishi number again.

"Who is this?"

"Tai, is that you?" the voice asked again. "Answer me, Tai!"

"This isn't Tai!" Brad finally yelled. 

_Click._

Brad stared at the phone a minute, confused. He put it back on the reciever.

Teresa stared quizzically at him. "Who was that?"

"Some psycho who thought I was Dad. And wouldn't you believe it--he was calling from Aunt Kari's house."

Teresa furrowed her brow. As a Lost DigiDestined [A/N: You'll find out about them later], she knew very well what was going on. 

"What did he sound like?" she asked.

"Kinda like how an old man would sound. You know, really deep and kinda gruff. You wouldn't know who he is, would you, Mom?"

Teresa was silent. She averted her eyes to the den, where Tai, clueless as usual, was stooping over, picking up the poker chips that the three had strewn around the room.

"Could you stir the sauce for a minute, _mi hijo?"_ she asked, handing him the wooden ladle. "I need to talk to your dad for a minute." Teresa left Brad standing in the kitchen, confused.

Teresa rushed over to him. "Taichi," she hissed. "Something has happened."

Tai's face grew concerned. She only called him by his full name when something was wrong. "What? What is it?"

"Brad just answered the phone. It was someone from the Takaishi's residence, but Brad said when he answered, it sounded like an old man. He said that he mistook him for you. I think...Taichi, I think it was Gennai."

That was it. Tai stood up straight, taking on his "masculine fatherly role," and stormed into the kitchen. "Brad, go to your room!"

Brad dropped the ladle. "What did I do?" he asked, confused.

"I, uh...I can't think of anything right now, just go!"

Brad's mouth dropped halfway open, and he stumbled off. As soon as the door to his room shut, Tai picked up the phone, and hit the number two speed dial button--Kari and TK's apartment. "I don't understand why there was a call from there, especially from Gennai!" he muttered. "Kari and TK should still be over at Matt and Sora's, and he should be at his apartment! Why would he be over there?"

The phone rang three times. Tai lowered it down so Teresa could hear, too. It finally picked up.

"Tai, is this you?" he heard a voice ask.

"Gennai! What are you doing at Kari's apartment?"

"Oh, Tai! I went home to my place, and the door was half open! Furniture was turned over, and someone had opened the Digiport! Even worse, Tony was gone! And Angel, Kara, and Chino are gone, too!"

"What do you mean? Where are they?" Tai asked, panicked.

"I don't know, but my guess is the Digital World!"

Teresa took in a sharp breath. Tai shook in fear. "What do you mean? How could they have gotten into the Digital World? They have no Digivices!"

"I guess it's partly my fault...I used TK's Digivice to open up a portal on my own computer. I must have forgotten to put up a password on it. What have I done?"

"Don't worry, Gennai, we'll be right over," Tai said.

_"Pueda el asidero de Dios usted en la palma del mano_," Teresa whispered. "See you in a few minutes."

"By the way, how did you get into TK and Kari's place, anyways?" Tai asked.

_Click_.

Tai rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. "This is serious," he said. "We have four missing chidren who might have accidently stumbled into another demension that was supposed to have been kept a secret. What will we do when the others find out?" He wrapped his arms around her.

"They might not be in the Digital World, Taichi," Teresa said, burying her face in his chest. "They might have gone out to a club, or a party, or a rave..."

"They're fifteen years old, 'Resa," he said. "That wouldn't be a good thing." He rested his chin on her head for a moment, then pulled away. "Get your coat. We're taking a little trip over to the East Side."

*~*

Once again, we landed with a thud on the floor of Tony's apartment. I stood, then helped Kara up. We looked around the apartment in amazement.

"What happened here?" Tony cried.

The place was in shambles. Furniture had been turned over. The rug had been pulled up. Someone had knocked the trashcan over.

"Who did this?" Tony wondered.

Suddenly, I saw something shiny and glittery on the floor. I knelt down and picked it up.

It was a pretty gold necklace, with the Japanese charecter for faith on it. 

I held up the necklace. "I have a pretty good idea," I responded.

Kara's eyes went wide. "Mari?" she asked, incrediculously. 

"How many people do you see walking around Odaiba with the necklace?" I asked. "It's pure gold. She's had it since she was a little kid."

"How could she have gotten in?" Chino asked.

I pointed. "The door's wide open."

"We'd better get this cleaned up before my grandfather comes home!" Tony said suddenly. He ran over to the trashcan and began picking up its contents.

We all chipped in a bit. Chino moved all the furniture in its upright positions, I cleaned under the rug, Tony cleaned up the area around the trash can, and Kara cleaned the whole kitchen. The Digimon were too small to do anything, so they just watched. The place looked decent by the time we were done.

"You guys better hide," I told the Digimon, "in case Tony's grandpa comes back."

They dove into Tony's duffel bag. Chino looked around. "So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

Tony was digging around in the cabinet under the television. He pulled out a board game. "Anyone up to a game of Monopoly?"

*~*

Tai and Teresa drove down to the end of the city, to Kari and TK's apartment building. They parked, then rushed up the steps. They stopped when they came to the Takaishi residence. Tai raised his fist, and knocked lightly on the door. 

Gennai opened it carefully. He ushered them inside, "Quickly, quickly, come in."

Teresa shivered. "It feels strange being her without Kari and TK."

Tai nodded in agreement. He looked around. "There are bottlecaps everywhere!" he remarked. 

"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Gennai said. "But that's not what I called you here for. You see, I think that Tony, Angel, Kara, and Chino might have gone into the Digital World through my computer. And I need you to come with me to the apartment to investigate."

Tai ran his hands through his thick hair. "Alright. 'Resa, do you want to come or stay here?"

"Where you go, I go," she said, linking his arm in hers.

"Right." They walked out the front door and down the hall. Tai pressed his ear against the door.

"There are voices in there!" he hissed. "They're laughing."

"Well, then go on in!" Gennai whispered back. Tai placed his hand on the doorknob, and nervously turned it. He shoved the door open, and his mouth dropped open.

Tai had expected to see an apartment in shambles. Instead, he saw four teenagers, sitting on the sofa, playing Monopoly. Their mouths were halfway open, and they looked as confused as he was.

"Uncle Tai?" Angel asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, uh...Mr. Tanishi said when he got back from work this afternoon, the apartment looked like someone had broken in. Do you kids know anything about that?"

The four of them shook their heads vigorously. "We've barely been here, Mr. Kamiya," Chino said. "We came here, we ate dinner, went to the park, then came back."

"What about all of the bottlecaps in your apartment, Angel?" Teresa pressed.

Angel blushed, and crossed her fingers behind her back. "Well, you see, I was showing Tony my bottlecap collection, and they kinda, uh...spilled."

Teresa and Tai glared at Gennai. "You brought us halfway across town for THIS?!?" 

"Well, I, uh, well...I was so sure something had happened! I know I saw the furniture turned over! And the rug had been pulled up!"

Teresa narrowed her eyes, and cursed Gennai silently incoherently in Spanish.

"Wait a minute, you two know each other?" Tony asked incrediculousy.

"Better than you might want to think," Tai said.

Tony sighed. "Guys, this is my Grandfather Tanishi. Grandfather, this is Angel, Kara, and Chino."

Angel raised her eyebrows. "Uncle Tai, how do you and Aunt Teresa know Mr. Tanishi? And where's Brad?"

"Those are...plenty of questions that I don't have time to answer right now," Tai said hastily. "You three better be heading back to the other apartment."

"Yeah..." Angel said slowly. She stood. "Come on, guys." She began to walk towards the door, and Kara followed her. Chino got up off the couch, and picked up a heavy looking duffel bag. Teresa saw something moving around inside it.

"Do you need any help with that thing, Chino?" Tai asked, trying to take the bag from him.

"No, really, I'm fine I can--" Chino said, pulling it back, "--handle it."

"I insist, really," Tai said, reacing for it again. There was a breif struggle, and eventually, Chino won.

"We'll just be on our...way, now," Angel, said, a bit flustered. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tanishi. 'Bye, Uncle Tai, Aunt Teresa. See you tomorrow, Tony."

"Bye, guys," he said, raising his eyebrows.

*~*

I shut the door of my apartment and leaned back against it, breathing a sigh of relief. "That was close," I said, shutting my eyes.

"You said it," Kara agreed. 

Chino opened the duffel bag and let out three sweating, dizzy Digimon. "That was some ride," Tsunomon said. "Hey, this place is a mess!"

I opened my eyes and looked around the living room. The bottlecaps were still there. I groaned.

"You guys can go to bed if you want," I said. "I have to clean the bottlecaps up before my parents get home."

"No worries, Ange', we'll help you," Chino said. "We'll clean up all night if we have to."

And we did. We started cleaning around 9:00, and finished around 2:00. Kara and I curled up at either ends of my bed, and Chino fell asleep in my sleeping bag on the floor. All of us were curled up with our Digimon. 

Sleep did not claim me immediately. I lay awake in bed for several minutes, wondering where this new discovery would take me. Up and down, in and out. Through Tony's computer and back. Again. But I hope this will be for the better.

Emphasis on the hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damn, that took a long time to write. And, for those of you wondering, _Pueda el asidero de Dios usted en la palma del mano_ means "May God hold you in the palm of His hand." Anyhoo, hope to have Chap. 9 up soon! E-mail at jazzgirl1488@hotmail.com. Please review.


	9. According to Angel: Until We Meet Again

According to Angel: Part Nine

I woke up the next morning with Kara's stinky feet in my face. I scrunched up my nose, and pushed her off the bed. Then I slapped myself over the mouth and gasped.

"The soccer game!" I yelled. Kara grunted and woke up, and Chino snored loudly. I jumped out of bed quickly, and began rummaging around in my drawers. I pulled out my dark red and black jersey. It had number 15 on the back of it, right below TAKAISHI. On the front, then name "Samurais" was written in huge, Rockweller writing.

I pulled out a pair of black shorts, and my knee high soccer socks. Chino turned over sleepily just in time to see me rip off my pajama shirt.

"Oh, shit!" we cried out at the same time. He flipped back over, and I ran into the closet and slammed the door. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. I silently cursed myself, and continued dressing. When I stepped out, Kara had her hands on her hips and a funny looking smile on her face. To my surprise, she was already dressed in her soccer uniform, cleats and all. Yokomon was sitting on her head.

"So Chino got a peek at what a girl looks like in a bra, huh?" she said, trying to muffle her giggles. "And his cousin! Shame, shame, Angel."

"It'd be just like looking at you in a bra," I said, sitting down on the bed to put on my shinguards. "We look exactly alike. Same size, height, weight...everything. You know how people are always passing us for twins. Same green eyes...same thin lips...same blonde hair, haircut..." I grunted, lifting my leg up to tye a cleat, and fell backwards. "Only a couple of differences...genetic mapping...and I can play a decent game of soccer."

"Why, you...!" Kara said in mock anger. She tackled me, and we both fell to the floor. Yokomon went flying off her head, squealing. We wrestled for a minute, giggling, rolling around the floor, almost rolling over Yokomon and Salamon. 

"And we thought their parents were nuts," Salamon whispered to Yokomon, jumping out of the way. 

"You said it," she whispered back.

We continued wrestling and giggling for a few minutes. Kara and I didn't notice the eight shadows standing in our doorway.

Mom, Dad, Aunt Sora, Aunt Teresa, Uncle Matt, Uncle Tai, Chino, and Brad were standing there, the most bewildered looks on their faces.

Kara and I stood up quickly. "We can explain," she started. We scooted over in front of Salamon and Yokomon so they wouldn't see them.

"Save it," Dad said. "You have a soccer game in half an hour. Come on, Angel, get your soccerball." He took Kara by the shoulder, and started to lead her out the room.

I put my hand over my mouth, so they wouldn't see my smile. Chino squinted at me as if he was trying to determine whether I was Kara or Angel, and Brad grinned. Mom raised her eyebrows. Teresa mumbled something to Tai in Spanish. He looked at me, then at Kara, then back at me. He laughed.

Dad and Matt, of course, were oblivious to the whole thing. Sora was giving Matt the evil eye, dropping subtle hints at who was who.

"Dad?" I said, trying to catch someone's attention.

"Yes?" they both said turning around. They looked a bit shocked, then confused.

"But, she--"

"I thought--"

"No way!"

"Which is which?"

That did it. We all burst out laughing. Matt and Dad were both blushing furiously. Tai slapped Matt on the back, and he stood up straight. 

The only person not laughing was Mom. She looked genuinely disturbed at the fact that Dad and Uncle Matt had gotten us mixed up.

"Lighten up, Kari!" Teresa said, smiling. "It's not like it's a big deal or anything."

Mom scowled. "I'm going to start the car." And with that, she left the room.

Dad sighed heavily. "Cut her some slack," he told us. "She's been under a lot of stress."

I rolled my eyes. Typical.

*~*

Kari was pretty upset. TK couldn't even tell the difference between his daughter and his neice. What kind of a father does that?

_Well, _she thought, _they do look a lot alike. And several people have gotten them mixed up.They could pass as twins if they needed to._

Kari shook that thought out of her mind. _Still, it's no excuse. TK ought to know the difference between Kara and Angel. It's commen sense._

But, still...there were a lot of similarities.

_No!_ Kari thought. There was a tiny little voice in the back of her mind that was screaming, "Don't forgive! Don't forgive! Don't forgive!"

Kari groaned. _This can't be happening. Why me? Why now?_

If this had happened at any other time, when she was NOT pregnant, Kari would have been more understanding. She might have even thought it was funny. But since her hormones were raging out of control, her emotions were getting harder to handle. It was easier to be mad at her husband than happy and forgiving.

Kari sighed, and hit her against the steering wheel, just as TK climbed into the passenger seat. He shut the door, and the two of them were silent for a moment. Finally, she asked, "Where's Angel?"

"Inside," he replied. "She'll be out in a minute."

Again, there was silence. TK cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry."

Kari glanced over at him, and nodded. She still wasn't ready to talk.

"I--I should have been able to tell Angel from Kara. It was dumb of me. And...and I want you to know that--that it will never happen again. I'm so sorry."

Kari was still silent.

"Kari, please say something!" TK begged. "Just last night, we managed to get all of our problems worked out. And now, here we go again! What's with you? Have you found a newfound love of picking fights? You haven't been this touchy in--"

"Ten years," Kari choked out. "Last pregnancy."

TK looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. "God, Kari, I--I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring her up. Kari...Kari, please don't cry..."

Too late. Kari's hands covered her face. TK rolled his eyes so far back in his head that he probably had a pretty good view of his skull. He awkwardly put his arm around her, and she leaned over to him. They hugged, and TK knew all was forgiven.

She leaned back, and TK wiped her tears away with his thumb. "There, all better now, right?" he said. Kari gave a small smile. She nodded.

"You want me to drive?" he asked. Kari nodded again, and they both climbed out of the car, and switched sides. When they were back in the car, TK leaned over and gave her small peck on the cheek. He patted her belly, and suddenly, Angel flounced into the car.

"So are we going or what?" she asked, smacking her gum. 

"Sure," said TK, turning the key in the ignition. "So, how was your evening? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," Angel said slowly. "I was showing Tony my bottlecap collection, and we had a little...accident. Then we made pizza, and played on the computer, and his grandfather and Uncle Tai and Aunt Teresa thought there was a burgler in his apartment, and they came in and ruined our game of Monopoly. I was winning, too."

"Tony's grandfather?"

"Yeah, I didn't meet him until last night, either," she said absently, looking out the window. "Appearently, his parents died in a car crash when he was only a couple of weeks old. He's been in the care of Tony ever since."

Kari and TK exchanged a glance. "What's his name?" TK pressed.

"Uh...Gennai Tanishi. He's a really old, really short guy with a funny looking beard. He's about four feet tall. And he and Uncle Tai and Aunt Teresa seemed to know each other really well."

TK was fuming. _He's been living three doors down from us for over fifteen years...and we never knew!_

Kari was just as angry. _Tai knew all this time! And he didn't tell us...Ooh, I'm gonna have to open up a can of whoopass on him...._

The drove in silence for awhile. After a few minutes, they reached the soccer fields. The three of them got out of the car, and Angel got on TK's shoulders to locate her team. 

"I think I see them," she said. She got off of his shoulders.

TK kissed her on the top of her head. "Score me two points."

"I'll score you FIVE points! Bye!" she yelled, and started to run across the field.

TK linked arms with Kari, who layed her other hand on her stomach. "Let's go find a place to sit on the bleachers, shall we?"

Kari smiled. "Let's."

*~*

I was psyched for this game. And I didn't even eat breakfast!

Kara, Mari, Tina, Lei, and the other girls were already there before me. After we finished stretching, I cornered Mari on the other side of the duffel bags.

I held up her little gold necklace. "Missing this?" I asked.

She gasped, and reached for it, but I pulled it away.

"What were you doing at Tony's house last night?" I asked, eying her.

She looked down guiltily. "Promise you'll believe me."

"You have to promise me you'll believe what I tell you after the soccer game."

"After last night, I'll believe almost anything." She played with the end of her soccer shorts. "Okay. Last night I called you to get your history notes, but no one answered. I was a little worried, because usually at least you or one of your parents are home at night. So Sam and I took the train down to your end of town.

"When we got there, all the lights were on in your apartment, and we saw Tony's door half open, and figured you were there. We went in, and all the lights were on, and the computer had a screensaver on. Sam hit a button on the keyboard, and a swirling thing popped up. It looked like some kind of portal.

"Sam touched the screen. It suddenly started sucking his arm in! We spent a good ten minutes trying to pull him out of the computer, when it finally just spit him out. We went flying across Tony's living room, knocking some furniture over in the process. When we got up, we screamed, and ran out of the apartment. I guess sometime when we were over there, I lost my necklace. I...I really hope you'll believe me."

I nodded, and handed it back to her. "I believe you," I said. "But I have something even bigger to tell you after the game." I pointed to her necklace. "You might want to put that in your duffel bag. No metal shall be worn during a game of futbol," I quoted from the game manual. She smiled, and dropped the necklace into her duffel bag.

"Okay, ladies, let's get ready," Brad, the coach said, calling them into a huddle. "Today, we play the second-best team in the league--the Stallions. Angel, regain your position as striker."

"Right."

"Mari, take the left side of her. Nina, right side. Block number 8, she's a killer."

"Got it."

"Lei, I want you on left fullback. Claire, center fullback. Rhea, right fullback. Stephanie, I want you on right midfield. Kara, center. Jana, left. Tina, your my sweeper. Protect Lei, she's our goalie today. I want Miranda, Liza, Erin, and Marissa as subs. Flag me down when you need one.

"Okay, let's play hard today, girls! Remember, Samurais kick butt!"

The referee blew his whistle, and we got into our positions on the field. We were kicking off, and I hovered over the ball slightly. The ref blew his whistle again, starting the game. I lightly tapped the ball to Mari, and ran forwards at full speed. Mari back kicked the ball to Nina, and Nina kicked it to me. I was halfway to the goal when the ball reached my feet. 

I heard the shouts of the other girls not far behind me. Kara, Steph, and Jana were right on my heels. I was almost to the goal when...

She stole the ball.

Number 8 stole the ball from _me._

Ooh, she's gonna pay.

I turned around and started chasing after her at full speed. I was right on her heels, and she was almost to the half field mark. Suddenly, I thrust my foot out under her, and kicked the ball ahead.

Steph caught it, and number 8 tripped under my foot, and fell backwards. Steph dribbled a little ways, about ten feet, when she passed it to Jana, who passed it back to me. I dribbled it forwards, then kicked in the goal, at the same time, losing my balance and falling on my side.

The Samurai fans cheered loudly. I could hear my dad somewhere in the bleachers. I knew his voice anywhere.

"Angel, you ROCK! GO, BABY! WOO WOO WOO!"

I flushed with embarrassment. Brad was laughing, and number 8 on the other team looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo.

I went back to the middle of the field, with Mari and Nina at my side. Number 8 tapped it to their left offensive, who kicked it backwards lightly, and the ref blew the whistle.

"No backwards passing!"

Number 8 stared at the girl with daggars in her eyes. "What the hell was that for?" she shreiked. "Do you know what you just did to us?"

My mouth dropped open. How could she be so mean to her own teammate?"

The ref blew his whistle again. "Yellow card!"

Samurai fans cheered. Number 8 was escorted off the field, and the Stallion's coach ushered a new girl onto the field, whose number was 19.

She must have been about six inches taller than me, and twenty pounds heavier. She had a greater muscle tone, and had her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and she looked like she was wearing too much eye makeup.

This girl was going to cause a problem.

It was our kickoff. I passed it to Nina. Nina tried to pass it back to me, but number 19 stuck her foot out, and kicked the ball forward, causing me to trip. She jumped over me, and ran down the field with unbelievable speed.

I was angry. I stood, and without brushing myself off, I ran after her as fast as my legs could carry me. 

As their new striker approached, Tina looked frightened. Best defender on our team, she wasn't afraid of shit. I looked up at her, silently commanding her to snap out of it. She did, and ran forwards, ready to steal the ball. She was womped right in the front. Both of them cried out, and fell backwards. Rhea ran around, and stole the ball. The defense kicked it around the field for a little while, having a few laughs while they kept it from the midfielders of the opposing team who were, thankfully, not very good players. 

Until I ran through. Claire passed me the ball, and I ran straight through the field, my midfielders and offensives behind me and in front of me, blocking everyone. I ran straight for their goal, and kicked that ball into the net.

Number 19 never knew what hit her. She was dumbfounded, still our goal, her mouth open wide...half shock, half anger.

I knew she was going to cause me trouble in the future.

*~*

Kari sauntered up to her brother, who was standing next to the bleachers. "Those Kamiya genetics worked out really well, didn't they?" he said, grinning. "Went right through the generations. You have one hell of a daughter, Hika."

Kari paid no attention to his compliments. "Why didn't you tell me that Gennai has been living three doors down from us for the past fifteen years?"

The question caught Tai offguard. "How--How did you find out about that?" he stuttered nervously. 

"I heard about your little run in with Angel and the others last night," Kari said, angrily. "Why didn't you tell me? You knew all along, and you never told me!"

"Kari...It was for the best..."

"How? Tell me, Tai, how could keeping the location of the only person who could restore peace to the Digital World a secret be 'for the best'? Hmm? Tell me that!"

Teresa walked over to us. She put a hand on Tai's shoulder. "It's not entirely his fault, Kari," she said softly.

Kari eyed her. "You knew, too, Teresa? Did everyone know? Was I the only one?"

"No! Please, just let me explain," Teresa said. "I was the only Lost, or as you prefer, Indirect DigiDestined left. Caitlin, Leruki, and Hiroki are dead, and Gwen divorced Davis, so that leaves me. It was our job to keep Gennai's location a secret. When we married, I promised Tai I would never keep a secret from him, and Gennai told me it was alright to tell Taichi, since he was the leader. I don't know if Davis and Cody knew. But I can tell you, Kari, this was not Taichi's fault! It is no one's fault, except my own. I slipped up last night, permitting us both to enter his abode when there were impressionable chidren of DigiDestined in there! So if you should be yelling at anyone, it is me."

Kari was silent for a moment, then she cleared her throat. "No," she said. "I'm sorry. You were only doing your job. And don't worry--you're secret is safe with us."

"Us?"

"TK and I."

"As long as he tells no one, you may tell him."

"Thank you. And like you, Teresa," Kari said, "I don't like keeping secrets from my husband."

Teresa nodded. Kari turned around, and headed back to her seat on the benches between Yolei and TK.

"What was that all about?" TK asked.

"Tell you later. Right now, let's just watch the game."

Suddenly, the entire crowd on the Samurai's side booed. Number 19 had scored another goal, causing the Stallions to be tied with the Samurais and a four girl pile-up. TK noticed, with a groan, that Angel was on the bottom.

*~*

You do not know pain until you have had three girls piled up on your back. Mari, Claire, and a girl from the Stallion's team were all piled on top of me, and my leg was bent into a position it shouldn't have been in. A ref and a medic came out onto the field quickly, and examined us. Mari, the other girl, and I were all okay, but Claire had sprained her wrist. Everyone clapped as she was led off the field, and Marissa ran in to take her place.

We took our positions on the field. Number 18 was stationed in front of me. I tapped the ball to Mari when the whistle blew. Mari tried to to pass it back to me, but the other striker stole it, and ran straight forwards, kneeing me hard in the groin, and knocking me over onto me back. As she ran past me, she stepped onto my ankle, and I could hear and feel the spikes on her cleats crunching my bones.

"EEEEE!" I yelped. 

"ANGEL!" I heard Mom and Dad yell.

"ANGEL!" Tony and Chino yelled from the sidelines. 

"ANGEL!" I heard a familiar voice cry. I rolled on my side, and saw Chino kick the duffel bag that was next to him, and something moved inside of it. 

I couldn't believe he brought Gatomon and the others to the game. The last thing I remember was Brad standing over me, putting his sunglasses in front of my mouth and nose to check my breathing. And then everything went black.

*~*

Kari and TK ran out onto the field, followed by Tony, Chino, the refs, and the medics. Number 19 was issued a warning, then sent to sit with her team. 

The other girls in the game had taken a knee. Teresa was shouting incoherent Spanish across the field to Brad, who was testing the unconsious girl's heart rate. It appeared to be normal. TK knelt down next to her, and lifted her head.

"Angel baby?" he said softly, using her nickname. "Angel, are you in there?"

Her eyes fluttered open. She spoke softly. "What happened?"

"You were knocked out. The doctor is going to check out your ankle, and if all is well, you can still play if you want to." He helped her sit up.

"I want to play."

"He has to check you out first--"

"No, you don't understand. I want to play. I _need _to play. I. Want. To. Play."

TK rolled his eyes, and spoke sternly. "We'll see."

The doctor rubbed Angel's foot for a minute, then rolled it around. Angel cried out in pain. The doctor then took her foot, and snapped it in the other direction. He loosened her cleat, and tested the blood flow.

"Put some weight on it and see how it feels," he instructed. 

Angel did as she was told. She groaned. "It feels fine."

"Then why did you groan?" Kari asked, worriedly. She was standing right behind her.

Angel rolled her eyes. "Because you're digging your fingernails into the back of my neck."

"Oh," Kari said, blushing. She took a step back.

"Try walking on it," the doctor said.

TK helped her up. Angel stood, then took off walking. She took a few steps, then walked back to her parents, perfectly balanced.

"I don't see anything wrong with letting her play," the doctor said. "But it's up to you, Mom."

Angel looked up at Kari. "Mom, please, can I play?" she asked. She got down on her knees, clasped her hands, and made puppy dog eyes.

TK then got down on his knees. "Yeah, Mom," he begged. "Can she play?"

Kari rolled her eyes, and grinned. "The correct word is 'may,' and the answer is yes."

"Woohoo!" Angel shouted. The entire crowd cheered as she jumped to her feet.

Before he left the field, TK saw Tony lean over to his daughter and whisper, "I'm glad you're okay."

Angel couldn't hide how red she had become, and ran to her position. The other girls stood. "Welcome back!" Mari said.

"It's good to be back," she replied. "Now let's kick some horse butt!"

*~*

The ref blew the whistle, signaling to the Stallions that they needed to hurry up. They sent in a new striker, who looked like she wouldn't be much of a problem. Her hair was pulled into a french braid that went down past her butt, and had nails about as long as my pinky toe. 

He blew the whistle again. The new striker, number four, kicked the ball forwards, the stupidest move in the striker's handbook. I stole it easily, and my offensive players and I dribbled it down the field. One of their midfielders stole it, and we ran back down the field. 

Over the next five minutes, we managed to get caught up with the Stallions. Then suddenly, the first half was over. We collapsed on the sidelines, and listened to Brad give our pep talk. 

"Okay, girls, you're doing great. Awesome comeback, Ange'. Keep it up, but don't strain yourself. Tina, no more stomach smacks."

Tina rolled her eyes.

"Lei, great job in goal, but I want you to dove for the ball more," he continued. "There's a reason why those pads are in that shirt, and it's not to make you look good in front of Sam."

Lei glared furiously at Brad, and folded her arms in front of her chest. She blushed.

The ref's whistle blew to let them know they had to get out on the field. We took our positions. They must have gotten sick of the sucky striker, because they put the first girl in again. We exchanged a few words before the second half began.

"Did you have a nice _trip?_" she asked sarcastically.

"You can't keep me down for long," I replied, spitting out my gum out next to her cleat. 

She frowned. The ref blew the whistle again, and she kicked the ball to her teammate. They dribbled down the field, and we stole it every now and then, but the striker finally kicked in the goal.

It went on like this for sometime. They would score, then we would score. Finally, it was down to the last ply of the game. We were tied, eight to eight. They had made the last goal, so it was our kickoff. I tapped the ball to Jana, who kicked it to Mari, who kicked it back to me. We made our way around their front line, and Jana was left to battle the midfielders. 

"Jana! Pass it here!" I cried. She kicked it up to me, and I went for the goal. I was halfway down their end when I felt number 8 on my eight. She stuck her foot out underneath me as I kicked the ball. I slid to the ground, and she came down with me.

But her efforts were to late. The ball went into the goal. Everyone on the Samurai's side cheered.

I stood, and offered a hand to number 8. She took it, only to pull me back down with her.

Suddenly, I heard a voice inside of me. It was a voice that sounded so familiar that I trusted it immediately. I let the voice tell me what to do. 

"So is that it, then?" I let it speak for me. "Whenever you don't win, or you don't get your way, do you always resort to fighting?"

Number 8 stared at me with daggers in her eyes. I continued to let the voice inside my head speak. 

"You don't know when it's time to talk, and when it's time to fight. Now would be a good time to talk...but it would also be a good time to fight!"

A deep power came from within, and seemed to spring from my fingertips. I jumped her, and wrestled her to the ground. 

"What the--" she exclaimed. I threw a punch, and my fist hit the ground instead. The ref came over and seperated us. 

"Number 15 Samurai's suspended!" he exclaimed. "Now get in line to slap hands!"

The two of us glared at each other, then we both got in line behind our teams. We were supposed to slap hands saying "Good game," but I _accidently_ made it sound like I was saying "Gay" over and over again. 

After we got back to the sidelines, I got a lecture from Brad. "What is with you, Angel?" Brad yelled, dropping his clipboard. "First you have an amazing recovery in five minutes, right in the middle of the field, and then you tackle the opposing striker and get suspended from the next game! What happened out there Takaishi?"

"I don't know!" I said helplessly. "She pushed me down, and something inside me told me that I had to make her pay."

Kara gave me a sideways glance. 

Brad sighed exasperatedly. "Mari, I want you on striker for the next game. Marissa, I want you to take her place."

I looked down guiltily.

About thirty minutes later, I was in the backseat of the car again. We rode in silence. My father was extremely tense, and I had a feeling it had something to do with my little outburst.

When we got back to the apartment, Dad didn't say anything except, "Get ready. We're leaving for the concert in an hour, so we can pick up Tony, too."

*~*

TK sighed dramatically. He collapsed onto the couch, and hid his face in his hands. Kari looked at him for a few seconds, and he looked up at her.

"Don't you see?" he said. "It's happening! What she said to that girl out there on the field today were the exact same words that I said to Ken right before I punched his lights out when were like, twelve!"

Kari remained silent, letting TK do the talking.

"And this isn't the first time it happened! A couple of days ago, she experienced the exact same thing that you did when you were a teenager. She's becoming us! Sooner or later, she's going to find out what happened in the Digital World."

"I know," Kari said. "But we have to protect her. We can't let it take her, too."

"There has to be a way we can keep her safe. But how?" TK said, letting his head drop back into his hands. "This is like major deja vu. But how long can we keep it a secret?"

"We're just going to do what we do every time something like this happens," Kari said, trying to remain calm. "Come up with a reason as to why she heard the voice, and pray that she believes us."

"She's not five years old, anymore, Kari!" TK said. "She didn't draw a picture of a white cat with purple ears and a ring on its tail! Or ask for us to tell a story about a wolf that breathes ice or a bird that exhales fire!"

"I know, I know," Kari said, exasperated. "But we're her parents. And we have to do the best we can."

At that moment, Angel stepped out of her bedroom. She was showered and dressed, makeup and all. "Ready to go," she said.

"Okay," TK said, standing. He and Kari stole a quick glance at each other before they followed her out the door.

*~*

We got to the concert hall about twenty minutes early. Mom and Dad went to sit with the Izumis, Aunt Sora, Uncle Tai, Aunt Teresa, the Ichijoujis, Mr. Hida, Dr. Kido, and Mr. Motomiya. I took my seat between Mari and Tina.

"What were you going to tell me?" Mari asked, once I had seated myself.

"Tell her what?" Tina asked, leaning over. 

I sighed. "Tony, Kara, Chino, and I went on a little adventure yesterday. This actually affects all of you, and it would be better if I told you all at one time."

"Alright," Tina said, leaning back in her seat. "Hey, where are Kara and Chino anyways?"

"Chino's down near the end of the aisle between Brad and Jason," Mari said, pointing. "And Kara...well, I don't know where Kara is."

"Hmm..." I was stumped. Suddenly, Tina whipped out her laptop, and began typing furiously.

"Why the heck did you bring that thing with you?" I asked.

"I'm trying to finish up that report for Mr. Yukato," she said. "Then I can get started on the extra credit."

I rolled my eyes. Typical.

After a few more minutes, the lights dimmed. Everyone in the audience cheered as Uncle Matt led the Lone Wolves--once known as the Teenage Wolves...but, hey, people grow up--out onto the stage. Matt plugged his guitar into the amplifier, strummed a few chords, and began singing their signature song, the one that they've been singing for about twenty-five years: _I Turn Around._

Matt sang loud and clear. He really _does_ have a good voice.

_You've got a boy   
You've got a girl   
Sittin' underneath a tree.   
They sit there everyday.   
And even though,  
You may think   
This is the way that things should be,   
It may not always be that way. _

You can't take nothing for granted   
You gotta live life today. 

I turn around,   
I can see what's behind me,   
I turn back around to see what's ahead.   
And if you don't believe,   
I'll be here all along.   
Just turn around, just turn around.

_Yeah, I know  
That it's not  
Gonna be easy from here on  
But I'm gonna stick around  
Don't you know that we're  
Two in a million,  
This perfect love that we found_

_You can't just take it for granted  
You've gotta live life today_

_I turn around,   
I can see what's behind me,   
I turn back around to see what's ahead.   
And if you don't believe,   
I'll be here all along.   
Just turn around, just turn around._

_OH! When I turn around, I swear I will find you,  
You can turn right around, I'll be holding your hand!!  
I promise I'll hold you,  
And that I'll stand by you  
You can turn right around, turn right around_

_I turn around,   
I can see what's behind me,   
I turn back around to see what's ahead.   
And if you don't believe,   
I'll be here all along.   
Just turn around, just turn around_

Uncle Matt finished off the song. Everyone clapped and cheered. To me, it's an oldie, but it's still good.

Matt continued the concert with some of his other songs, a remake of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Go, Johnny, Go" a song he wrote about a year ago, "Spirit," two more old ones, "To You I Belong," and "Diamond in the Rough."

After he played those songs, he pulled out a stool, set his guitar on the stand, and sat down in the stool. "This next song," he began, "is one I wrote about my wife. I--I hope she understands why."

I snuck a peek at Aunt Sora. She was smiling. 

Matt cleared his throat in the mike, and the keyboardist played a few chords. Matt began to sing.

_When the road gets dark  
And you can no longer see  
Just let my love send a spark  
Have a little faith in me_

_When the tears you've cried  
Are all you can believe in  
Just give my loving arms a try  
Have a little faith in me_

_Have a little faith in me  
__Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me_

_Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me_

_When your secret heart   
Cannot speak so easily  
Come here child, from a whisper start  
Have a little faith in me  
When your back's against the wall  
Just turn around, and you will see  
I will catch you, I will catch you when you fall  
Have a little faith in me_

_Have a little faith in me  
__Have a little faith in me  
__Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me_

_Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me  
Have a little faith in me_

Kara was right. It _was_ a pretty song. Everyone applauded, and Chino stood on his chair and whistled loudly for his dad.

Uncle Matt stood up. "We have a guest singer with us tonight!" he exclaimed. "She's pretty, she's smart, and she has a voice like an angel! Please welcome my own daughter, Kara Ishida!"

I was surprised. Kara was singing? So that's why she wasn't with us! 

All of us in our row clapped loudly as she came out on stage, fiddle in tow. She stood in center stage, Matt right behind her with the electric guitar. The drummer gave her an introduction, and she began to play lightly on her fiddle. After a few chords, she began to sing.

_"May the Lord rise up to meet you  
May the wind be always at your back  
May the sun shine warm upon your face, now  
May the rain fall soft upon your fields_

_"And until we meet again  
And until we meet again  
May God hold you in the palm of His hand  
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."_

She played some more chords on her violin, and everyone in our aisle stood up and cheered loudly. Even from our seats, we could see the bright shade of red her face had become.

Truth be told, I had no clue that Kara could sing. I've never heard her sing before. Since I sound like a dying cow when I sing, I figured she did, too. I was obviously wrong. She had taken after her father.

_"May our children and their descendents  
Be the ones to find a lasting peace  
May their hopes and dreams become united  
May the past be left for those who hate_

_"And until we meet again  
And until we meet again  
May love and trust find a way to take a stand  
May love and trust find a way to take a stand."_

Kara was awesome! I couldn't believe this was my cousin. It was so weird. Let me put it this way...Kara and I have been like sisters since we were born. We have shared everything at least once, even toothbrushes. It wasn't like her to keep something like this from me. It was strange. 

_"May the Lord rise up to meet you  
May the wind be at your back  
May the sun shine warm upon your face  
May the rain fall soft upon your fields  
May this world and all its wonders  
Be a home to all humanity  
May the people find a common purpose  
May we help one another to survive_

_"And until we meet again  
And until we meet again  
May Mother Earth pour her heart into our land  
May Mother Earth pour her heart into our land."_

Kara and the rest of the song faded out slowly. Everyone in the concert hall cheered loudly for my cousin. All six of the guys stood on their chairs, stomped their feet, and whistled loudly until the security guard came over and silenced them. 

Kara put her violin down, and picked up the electric guitar. She sat in a stool and strummed it quietly. She began to sing quietly.

_"This is the place where I sit  
This is the part where I love you too much  
This is as hard as it gets  
'Cause I'm getting tired of pretending I'm tough._

_"I'm here if you want me  
I'm yours, you can hold me  
I'm empty and achin'  
And tumblin' and breakin'_

_"'Cause you don't see me  
And you don't need me  
And you don't love me  
The way I wish you would  
The way I know you could."_

I recognized that song. It was from a movie that Kara, Tina, and I had gone to see that spring...Oh, what was it called? _Josie and the Pussycats._ I remember, now.

_"I dream a world where you'd understand  
I dream a million sleepless nights  
I dream of fire when you're touching my hand  
But it twists into smoke when I turn on the lights_

_"I'm speechless and faded   
It's too complicated  
Is this how the book ends  
Nothing but good friends?_

_"'Cause you don't see me  
And you don't need me  
And you don't love me  
The way I wish you would  
The way I know you could_."

I could only imagine who she was singing about. I stole a glance down the other end of the aisle at the guys, who were all watching her with fascination.

_"This is the place in my heart  
This is the place where I'm falling apart  
Isn't this just where we met?  
And is this the last chance that I'll ever get?_

_"I wish I was lonely  
Instead of just only  
Crystal and see-through  
And not enough to you_

_"'Cause you don't see me  
And you don't need me  
And you don't love me  
The way I wish you would  
'Cause you don't see me  
And you don't need me  
And you don't love me  
The way I wish you would  
The way I know you could_."

Kara was fantastic. As soon as she finished, the entire auditorium erupted in loud applause. Kara blushed, took a bow, then tore off the stage. 

The concert ended about twenty minutes after that. We all gathered backstage to congratulate and conjugate.

"You were great!" I sqealed, wrapping her up in a bear hug. She grinned.

"Why didn't you tell me you could sing? You were awesome!" Mari said.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't that great," Kara said, blushing.

"Was, too."

"Was not."

"Was, too."

"Was not."

"I think that's enough of that," Uncle Matt said, stepping in gracefully. "Come on, guys, we have to go home now." He wrapped his arm around Kara and started to lead her away. She turned around and waved at us.

"Bye, guys! See you Monday!"

"Bye!" we waved back. 

We didn't stay long. Before long, the only people left were me, Tony, Brad, Brad's parents, and mine. 

"We need to talk, Brad," I whispered. "All twelve of us. It's very important."

"Why?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"You're not going to believe us," Tony warned. "But we're not crazy."

"What is it?" Brad asked. "Whatever it is, you can just tell me."

Tony and I exchanged a glance. We pulled him into the other room. I took a deep breath, then began the story.

*~*

Email: jazzgirl1488@yahoo.com. Please review.


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